Gundam Wing: The War in A.C. 200
by Torankusu
Summary: An epic saga, and a fan sequel on the story of Gundam Wing and the Endless Waltz OVA. 5 years after the Eve War, and 4 after the Marameiya Crisis, a reunited humanity faces it's greatest threat ever. Gundam pilots must once again don the armor . Dramatic
1. Prologue

Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200  
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction  
by Torankusu Senshi  
  
Prologue: Shadows in the Year A.C. 200  
  
Earth had never been more peaceful than it was now. With the climax of the Eve Wars, in December of A.C. 195, and the surrounder of the Marameiya forces due to the demands of the people in A.C. 196, The Earth Sphere Nation had become a paradise. All mobile suits and weapons of war had been destroyed. The now infamous Gundams, the machines responsible for the successful outcome of total pacifism, had been self destructed by their pilots, a symbol to remind everyone that the time for such dangerous weapons of war were now past.  
  
What the Earth had been struggling towards for thousands of years, had finally been attained. Total peace was a reality, on Earth, and in the Colonies. The organization known as the Preventers, the only organization left in all the Earth Sphere with access to mobile suits, patrolled and protected, making sure that no more demons of war such as the one Treize Khushrenada would ever show up again. Humankind was truly on its way to a new era of prosperity and peace.  
  
As for our heroes of the Eve Wars, things were better than normal. Zecchs Merquise, one time leader of the White Fang, and recently promoted leader of the Preventers Agency, was living a quiet life on the Earth. He was rarely needed to solve disputes, the human race had indeed learned it's lesson, as he had always hoped. Lucrezia Noin, Zecch's best friend and lifetime companion also had dedicated her life to the Preventers, and was at peace knowing that she would have no more wars to fight. Sally Po, friend to ex-Gundam pilot Wufei Chang fought beside Noin and Merquise when necessary, which wasn't often. She was now almost a full-time teacher to the new generation of Preventers, showing them anti-terrorist tactics. Ironic, considering her past. Wufei Chang himself was a happy member of the Preventers, teaching newcomers the basics and sophistications of mobile suit warfare. The warrior in a time of peace had indeed found himself a place. The Lady Une supervised all Preventers, and instilled in them a sense of discipline.  
  
Trowa Barton, ex-pilot of Gundam Heavyarms, had joined the circus full-time, and resided with his sister Katherine in one of the colonies. He seemed well, though he still never demonstrated any form of emotion to anyone. If he had any, he kept it to himself. Duo Maxwell, ex-pilot of Gundam Deathscythe, was busy back in his scavenging business, with his old friends from the Peacemillion scavenged space and Earth's seas for anything useful. It was a quiet life, but deeply fulfilling for the now grown man. Quatre Rababera Winner had reestablished his family's company, and the Winner Foundation was the most prosperous company in all of the Earth Sphere. He resided, with all 90-someodd sisters, in the Winner Estate at the L-4 colony.   
  
Relena Peacecraft, former Queen of the World, and now Vice Foreign Minster of the Earth Sphere Nation, was busy all the time bringing up topics of debate and demoncracy, and bringing the different provinces of the Nation together. She was the adhesive, without her, the Nation would have simply been a thousand different countries sharing a name.   
  
And as for the savior of the planet Earth, Heero Yuy, of him nothing had been seen for years. After his disappearance in the year A.C. 196, at the conclusion of the Marameiya war, various old friends had tried to search for him. He was impossible to find, and couldn't be located on either Earth or the colonies. It was generally assumed that he had disappeared somewhere to live a quiet, reflective life, and for what the man had been through, no one could truly blame him. Many still thought of him, and wondered where he was, and what he was doing.   
  
And so arrived the year A.C. 200. The human race was perfect, or so it seemed. Totally united for the first time in all of it's history. Everyone was hoping for the best, that peace for the rest of all time would be a reality. However, as shadows began descending on the Sol system, they were about to find out the horrible truth:  
  
Peace was here, but it was a fragile thing, like glass. And with the enemy the Earth Sphere Nation was about to find itself facing, that fragile peace was about to be put to the ultimate test.   
  
A.C. 200. The year of the bloodiest war in all of human history.  
  
Humanity would fight as one, or perish. The need for Mobile Suits and the Gundams was far from over. 


	2. An Era of Prosperity

Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200  
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction  
by Torankusu Senshi  
  
Chapter 1: An Era of Prosperity  
  
Space was endless. The infinite expanse of stars and black void went farther than the mind could comprehend. It was impossible to even dream of that entire All, it was just too large. The possibilities and destinies that were held therein of all the stars, suns, nebulae, and systems was infinite. Trying to think about it may be impossible, but it sure was fun. Duo Maxwell, ex-pilot of Gundam Deathscythe, and hero of the Eve and Marameiya Wars, lay lazily atop the deck of the ship he and Howard scavenged from, looking up into the night sky. He was stretched atop a hammock, his hands folded behind his head. The night air was chilly, even in May, the reason probably was the air of the Pacific Ocean southeast was not very hot. Duo didn't mind it much, his usual priestly garments were just fine.  
  
He was the picture of contentment where he was. Though he was now 20 years old, and full grown, his face and demeanor maintained the youthful and joyful look they had during his life as the God of Death. Just being able to lie down on a ship meant for nothing more than scavenging, and enjoy the view of stars not covered in bloodshed, had Duo in a good mood. Had, in fact, for the past 4 years, at the conclusion of that Marameiya business. Humming, to himself, it was onlly natural that most anything would surprise him at this perfect moment.  
  
Which is why he fell out of his hammock when a cold appendage latched onto his shoulder.  
  
He practically leaped up from the cold deck, his face the portrait of rage, ready to take on his attacker with his righteous fury. 4 years retired or no, he would show this opponent better than to surprise the God of Death with such a sneaky, underhanded attack.  
  
And he came face to mirthful face with old man Howard. The old captain of the battleship Peacemillion was laughing merrily, his frail looking body shaking. He held a towel in one hand, using it to dry his other boney arm. He gazed at Duo, obviously highly amused, through those sunglasses he always wore, even in the nighttime.  
  
"How's it going, Duo?"  
  
Duo could only snarl in response, his fists clenched and his face a blood red. Howard laughed again. Duo spoke up in low, threatening tones:  
  
"Just because you're old and I'm retired doesn't mean I won't hurt you, old man."  
  
Howard finished using the towel, and promptly tossed it into Duo's grimacing expression. One would think Duo would have better reflexes, but the veteran warrior simply stood there as the towel hit him, sticking to his face a single moment before falling all the way down, draping down his body, leaving a water trail. As the towel slid from his face, the expression he had promised nothing but pure murder.  
  
Unfortunately for Duo's victim, a young crewman on the ship had witnessed the entire scene. Upon the aforementioned towel escapade, he broke out into gales of laughter. The dripping wet pilot, ever so slowly, turned his head to look at the younger crewman. The poor man did not notice, however, continuing to laugh. And then Duo struck.  
  
With a bloodthristy war cry, he leaped from his deck, his limbs outstretched as if he meant to pounce. The crewman caught the movement and ducked just in time, no one who shipped with Howard and Duo had slow reflexes or was dim-witted. Duo landed on the deck a little after the man, spun around, and the chase was on.  
  
Howard shook his head, watching as Duo chased the mortified shipman all around the deck of the ship. He put one hand to the side of his mouth, calling out:  
  
"Whenever you two are done with your squabbling, get below beck and get some sleep! We have more wrecks to take care of tomorrow!"   
  
The weathered old sailor then left the prey and predator to their own devices, making his way over to the stern of the deck. He gazed out over the ocean, the stars and moon casting the entire thing in an eerie silver light. One of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. He couldn't remember having been more at peace, his biggest worry getting Duo and his unruly shipmen to obey curfew.  
  
He hoped things would stay like this._____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Relena Peacecraft, Vice Minister of foriegn affairs of the Earth Sphere United Nation, stood before the governing body of the Earth Sphere at her speaker's podium. They were at the Grand Hall, in the capitol of the Sphere, located in Brussels. The same place, where four years before, the Marameiya War had come to a final conclusion, and the peace of the world had been secured. Relena, now at the age of 20, the former Queen of the World, had taken upon herself the duties of insuring the reality of total pacifism to the Earth and to the Colonies. Even though she was now the maintainer of a Republic, she still somehow maintained that regal air about her, even in the modest badge outfit she wore. The years that had gone by had only taken away the childishness from her, and she now had that regal air, plus a degree of maturity that surpassed even what she had had at the tender age of 15.  
  
The body before her rarely met in the whole like this, it usually let Relena travel between colonies, and vid-conferences hold their diplomacy together. But this was the 3rd Annual Earth Sphere United Nation Diplomatic Summit, and as a result the Grand Hall currently held about 700 men and women, all representatives of their respective provinces. The purpose of the Summit this year was to gather to discuss the issues of territorial borders. Most debates usually were, only a few provinces were happy with the land they had been granted during the Great Unification's re-bordering of A.C. 197. The President had already gave his closing speech and departed, and now it was Relena's turn.   
  
Relena spoke her voice aloud, the commanding and royal tone silencing all the representatives, as the voice of the former Queen was well respected.  
  
"My fellow diplomats, before we close this annual Summit, I would like to make my closing address."  
  
The gathered governing body of the Earth Sphere United Nation was respectfully quiet.   
  
"Although we have our problems, as any government would, I am glad to see all of us being so cooperative and respectful towards the rights of human beings and other countries. I hope that every single province walks away from this Summit having known that they are doing the best they can for humankind. May we all continue on towards an era of peace and prosperity for our race."  
  
The delegates stood from their seats, almost simultaneously, and began clapping. It was a sight to see, 700 different men and women, of different races and religions, cultures, all dressed differently, yet still applauding the beliefs and system inspired by this one twenty year old girl. Relena moved aside from the speaker's podium, and courtsied politely. The delegates still applauded as she began her way out from the Hall, to exit through the speaker's door.  
  
That's when someone shouted, and the clapping stopped.  
  
Relena turned, the surprise evident on her face. No one ever spoke out of turn, much less halted the Vice Minister from leaving the stage. The man who had spoke was near the very front of the delegation, and was dressed in the blue, simple jumpsuit with a robe that was popular among Colony delegates. The sash he wore across his waist, signified him as being the representative of the L1 Colony. Relena burrowed into her mind in an attempt to recall his name before she answered him.  
  
Reeves, that was it. Marshall Reeves, delegate of the L1 Colony, and former member of the original resistance movement from which had sprung the White Fang. The man had been elected by a landslide, the L1 Colony's sympathies with former members of the White Fang was well known to all. On his face was a mask of calm nuetrality, the mask of a perfect politician, but the manner in which he had just shouted suggested otherwise.   
  
Relena, her tone a somewhat flustered one, took a few steps closer to the edge of the speaker's platform before addressing the man.  
  
"Yes, Delegate Reeves?"  
  
The colonial representative actually seemed to sneer in response to her dignified tone. He also wasted no time on pleasantries. He was nothing if not brief and efficient, as the world was soon to find out. The man took a few steps to the front of the delegation, and Relena could now make out his features: Short, brown hair and eyed, and a face that posessed stern features, what would be expected of a veteran of the Eve wars. When he spoke, the man posessed something like a hidden sneer behind the words:  
  
"Vice Minister Relena, is it not true that you are, in fact, using the Earth Sphere United Nation as a front to build another tyrannical Earth Sphere Alliance?"  
  
The young woman was so shocked by these words, she did not even have a chance to calm down and collect her thoughts before the Delegate continued his attack.  
  
"It's all obvious, that this democracy you are pretending to be so proud of; you're planning to lure us all into a false sense of security, and then you'll take over, using your 'Preventers.' It's the same thing that happened 25 years ago, with the assasination of Heero Yuy and the military buildup of the Earth Sphere Alliance!"  
  
The delegate's face had actually turned a bright red color, those last few words had been screamed aloud, so hard that all 700 of the gathered delegation would have heard him. Relena, usually cool and collected, was still too much in a state of shock to come up with any coherent asnwer, but unfortunately, she tried, anyway:  
  
"That's not true! The Preventers....", before she was interupted again by the offending delegate.  
  
"Are your secret task force, your private military arm. Can you honestly trust anyone who would have bowed to the wishes of Duke Dermail back in Romefeller's days; and accept his petition to crown her Queen of the World? Was it or was it not, Relena Peacecraft, all done to set you up in a position of power?!"  
  
Relena simply could not listen to these barbarous accusations anymore. She shook her head, violently, as if she could not possibly believe what she was being accused of. She had been the head of the total pacifist Sanq Kingdom, she had given her life over to world peace, in accordance with the wishes of her true and adopted fathers. She had been there when Milliardo had declared war on the Earth, trying to stop him. She had helped the people come to their senses during the chaos that was the Marameiya War. She hadn't done all that for selfish reasons.  
  
Had she?  
  
Had she done that simply because she wanted more people to be like her?  
  
As the woman was visibly shaken, plagued with self-doubt as she had never been, her attacker sneered again. He shook his head with disgust, turning and walking off angrily, shoving roughly whomever got in his way. He left behind him a trail of murmurs and discontent.  
  
The other delegates collected themselves, and began to file out in a somewhat more orderly fashion. All this left the stunned Relena by herself, on the speaker's platform, clutching her hands to her chest tightly.  
  
It was so hard, running a democracy. There were always those that thought they could intervene in any way they wished, that they could instigate problems simply out of the lack of anything better to do. In such a government, they were commonplace. She would have to learn to deal with it. Sometimes, she wished for her old friends, the ones that had helped her through that catastrophic era years ago. Most of all, she wouldn't lie to herself, she wished for Heero. He would have known what to say, a few simple words would have turned this thing into something to hope for.   
  
Where was Heero, anyway?   
  
She shook her head, sighing. She was no lovestruck schoolgirl, anymore. She was the head of the Earth Sphere United Nation. Relena was beyond chasing after anyone like she had back then, no matter who he was. She was more dignified, nowadays, than she had been in the past. It didn't matter, in any case, her main concern right now would be to meet up with her Council and discuss a public reply to the Delegate's attack. She had a lot of work and thought, ahead of her.  
  
Though none of that changed the fact that she still missed him.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The 230-story building of the L4 Colony was one of the most thriving business centers in the United Nation. It's outside was mostly windows, from afar, the sunlight reflecting off the glass seemed to make the place seem like nothing more than a giant lamp. It was real sunlight, too, on the side of the Colony that the shone sun on through domed-sheets meant to mimic the ozone layer. On the inside, the building was one of the most decorative in existence, each Hall costing literally thousands of dollars in rugs and paintings. The place was immaculate, as well, clean-up crews working at night to wash and dust every speck of dirt there was. The only place all these luxuries seemed absent, strangely enough, was the President's office on the 230th floor. It was a modest room, the only extravagant feature of it was the large, circular window, part of which came up onto the ceiling like a dome. It afforded the person lucky enough to see it a view of the most populated side of the colony, and the skies above, to watch for transports. It was there that the room's single occupant now gazed out, sitting in a small brown recliner.  
  
Quatre Rababera Winner shook his head, trying to clear it, to concentrate on his work. He took a look down at the pile of papers in front of him. That stack alone would take hours to complete, and there were more on the way. Being the head of a multi-province corporation was a real letdown, sometimes. The hours were bad, and you were always working. Quatre had even dreamed of work the other night. Now that had been a real nightmare, and a signal to get out of this mess as soon as possible.   
  
As they did entirely too often, his thoughts drifted back to his fellow Gundam pilots. They had certainly been through a lot, together. He always thought of, with a smile on his face, the battles they had helped each other through. Not the memory of the battles, themselves, but rather the memory of the teamwork and comeradeship they displayed was the source of his smile. He hadn't seen Heero since the conclusion of the Marameiya War. Wufei was too busy with his work as Preventer Agent Dragon to be cordial, he hadn't ever cared much for visits, anyway. Duo was somewhere on Earth, Quatre knew, but he was one tough sucker to track down, on his little scavenging ship. He hadn't even seen Trowa in months. He sure needed a vacation. Speaking of which.....  
  
No, he shouldnt just drop everything to pay Trowa a visit, should he?  
  
He got up from his chair to get his jacket.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The machine of destruction known as Gundam Altron, or to it's pilot, Nataku, stumbled backwards, almost falling. The metallic shifts in it's motivators as it righted itself back into a defensive position could be heard throughout the large, domed area in which the combat was talking place. It stood tall in the gleaming spotlights, the Gundanium metal from which it was made gleaming in the light. The weapons on it bristled, it had been heavily modified in recent months. The customary laser trident was held in one hand, from the other a large dragon-like claw emitted, being held in a defensive position. No one in their right mind would challenge a machine of such destructive power.  
  
The motivators located in the joints of Gundam Altron shifted, and the mobile suit's claw-arm slammed into place, aiming forward. Flames of hell spewed forth from the cannon violently, closing in on their intended target.   
  
Mobile Suit Tallgeese III leaped into the air, the retros on it's giant metallic boots flaring. The beams of fire missed it, just barely. The titanium white and blue hand reached under the shield, and when it retreated, with it came a glowing laser saber, the hue pink. The retros flared yet again as the Tallgeese roared in at it's opponent, that very saber slicing in a huge downward arc down at the opponent.  
  
Gundam Altron barely managed to bring up it's trident in respone, the blow blocked. Electricity filled the air when the sabers connected, as if they were alive. Altron took a giant step back, the ground being crushed beneath it. From it's shoulder a fang-like appendage appeared, and even more fire spewed forth into the Tallgeese. The other mobile suit, halted by this attack, dropped it's retros, hitting the floor violently in almost a human martial arts crouch. Bullets erupted from it's shoulder cannons, spraying forth point blank into the Gundam.  
  
Watching this battle from an enclosed and secure tower almost a kilometer away, Lady Une and Lucrezia Noin exhanged glances. Wufei Chang and Zecchs Merquise were warriors, had been all their lives. They would do anything to get in a simple sparring session, even risk billions of dollars of equipment, all under the guise of a demonstration to the newer Agents.  
  
As Tallgeese came up from it's crouch, slamming it's shoulder into Altron violently, Noin whispered left into Lady Une's ear.  
  
"You think that Zecchs will win again, Lady?"  
  
Lady Une, with that perpetual peaceful tone of voice and expression, answered back, without taking her eyes off the battle.  
  
"Wufei's been practicing. Besides, it's not like Zecchs wins every time."  
  
Altron, still spewing forth flames uselessly into Tallgeese's shield, struck a rapid left and right attack with the trident, on either side of it. Tallgeese countered one with the shield, the other with it's saber, and rammed itself into Altron again hard. The Gundam flew backwards, only at the last moment firing it's retros. Tallgeese was on the verge of getting up from the crouch it had yet again been forced into, when Altron descended upon it in a fury.  
  
The two laser blades simmered and sizzled, the entire area awash in electricty. The mobile suits struck, blocked, and parried, never moving their motions for an instant. Most martial arts masters wished they had technique like that. The shifting of gears and motivators could be heard even this far away.  
  
Behind Lady Une and Noin, a group of maybe twenty students watched, mouths gaping. They had all seen mobile suit battles before, they had even seen holo-vids of the Old Wars, but neither of them had a clue that one could go be so violent, majestic, so pure, for lack of a better word. The battles they had seen had involved mostly Leo's and their space variations, many with Tauruses, and a few Virgos to show the ferocity of mobile dolls. But none here had ever seen a fight with a Gundam, and another Gundam-class mobile suit before. They moved like lighting, looked completely lethal, and were armed to the teeth. They were both equipped with the highly classified Zero system, something only the best Preventer pilots were allowed access to.It was also no small honor to be able to watch the now legendary warriors Zecchs Merquise and Wufei Chang, heroes, battle it out.  
  
Tallgeese parried yet another strike as it's pilot's voice came in over the wide band transmission, being heard by both spectator and opponent alike.   
  
"I thought you had that flame-thrower dismantled, Wufei?"  
  
The only answer to the question that the pilot of Gundam Altron had came loud and clear, a double blast of flame's that barely missed the Tallgeese's head and sensor area. The voice of Zecchs chuckled as the mobile suit dodged to the side, it's blade flashing out in an attempt to dismantle the Gundam's arm.  
  
The young Agents in training ooe'd and aaa'ed with each strike and counterstrike. One walked silently to Noin, till he was just behind her and to the left, shaking nervously.  
  
"Miss Noin?"  
  
Lucrezia Noin turned around to face the young boy before her, the sounds of the battle clinging in the background. Everyone present wore the modest Preventer uniform, a black jumpsuit with a single rank patch on the left breast. All except Lady Une, who always forewent that to wear her old red aristocratic outfit in an honor to the dead Treize Khushrenada. The boy was slim, blonde haired, and good looking, almost reminding Noin of a Gundam pilot. His name tag read "Slade" and nothing else. Now that was strange. But she turned her attention on the young man, smiling warmly at him. The Preventers were more like a family than a military agency.  
  
"Yes, Trainee Slade?"  
  
The boy ran a hair through his short and tousled blonde hair, smiling sheepishly. "I was wondering if I could get a chance to pilot one of those mobile suits, instead of the crappy Leo's you've been making us use."  
  
Noin arched a brow in response. "Hang in there, soon you'll be able to pilot the Taurus, our best mobile suit."  
  
The youth seemed to be bouncing up and down in his shoes with anticipation. "I know, and I really want to get behind the controls of one of those, but......the ones out there are better than anything we'll ever pilot, and..........I'd really, really like to!"  
  
Noin smiled down at the youth, who must have been about 16, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'll tell you what, Slade. If you can convince Wufei or Zecchs to let you into the cockpit of one of their mobile suits, go right ahead."  
  
With that, she turned around to continue watching the battle. Behind her, she heard several other students chuckling, and huffy footsteps shuffling away. She restrained a laugh. It seems they had heard how posessive the two warriors were about their machines.   
  
Lady Une had remained quiet throughout the whole thing, and a thin smile blossomed on her lips at the end of it. These new warriors would have to learn how dangerous it was piloting a mobile suit. They would have to learn how not to let their egos and desires get in control of themselves, that was the kind of pilot that had existed during the Eve Wars. These kids would have to learn to protect, not to destroy, with any weapon they had handy.  
  
She smiled as she took a backwards glance at them. All in due time. Today, they would have to learn in-battle tactics.  
  
And, across the landscape a kilometer away, Gundam Altron and Mobile Suit Tallgeese III clashed again.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The acrobat in the clown suit was giving one of the most impressive performances that any below had ever seen. With grace that seemed almost supernatural, he leaped from bar to bar, rope to rope. He had been doing this for a long time, almost twenty minutes, and the audience was still as stunned and silent, full of awe, as they had been when he began. And Trowa Barton hadn't even broken a sweat yet. As he went through a backwards somersault, he could swear he was...  
  
Quatre? By the sidelines. He made a mental note to hurry this up to see his friend as soon as possible.  
  
Little was Trowa aware of the man positioned on the highest set of seats in the big tent, a completely empty row. The man who currently held a sniper rifle in his hands, and, though his target was moving quickly, had a sure sight the whole time. The man with the sniper rifle waited until the clown's next big fall, then he aimed where it would fall.....  
  
And he pulled the trigger.   
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
"Don's Cafe" was a small coffee shop up in the region of the Appalachian Mountains. It was at a high altitude, so the surrounding landscape was covered in snow. It was really a very small place, but nonetheless popular among tourists. However, in late May, the place was usually empty, the owner only kept it open out of fancy. However, even now, there was a single customer, who sat in the very corner of the small wooden place. He had kept his face down the entire time, letting brown shocks of hair cover his features. He drank from a steaming mug of hot coffee every once in a while, the only movement he had displayed in his entire stay.   
  
Don, the man currently behind the counter and owner of this small mountainside restaurant, was busy wiping a dish with a wet towel, looking at the young man seated by the corner. Strange fellow, he was. He had walked in around two hours ago, got a coffee, and for all that time he had simply sat there. He couldn't help but wonder if the guy was more than a little crazy.  
  
And then, without warning, the man got up and looked straight at Don. The owner would swear later, than those eyes were those of a veteran warrior, of someone formidable. And then, just as quietly as the man had come in, he walked towards the exit, his hands in his pockets. As he walked past the counter and out, the confused Don could swear the man had said something, in a voice as cold and deep as the snow currently surrounding them:  
  
"Soon, they're coming."  
_______________________________________________________________________  
  
  



	3. The Foreshadows of War

Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200  
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction  
by Torankusu Senshi  
  
Chapter 2: The Foreshadows of War  
  
Out here, millions of miles away from the Earth, the Sun was only a little bigger than the rest of the stars in the sky. The asteroid belt in fact, was the largest visible body, indeed, it covered an immense portion of the blackness , the swirling and blazing rocks were a sight to see. All the way from the homeworld and it's sphere, out here, there was a single manned outpost, the farthest in the Sol System. This outpost was given little consideration, and had, in fact, been tossed from government to government without an afterthought, usually as a simple statistic, like a monetary transfer. It had been first Earth Sphere Alliance Sentry X-1347, then, as the Romefeller Foundation had taken control of it's properties, had been renamed to Romefeller Space Station R-7635. Now, under the leadership of the Earth Sphere United Nation, the newest name was United Alliance Outpost P-8824. More than likely the ones doing these transfers were computers or low level custodians, any properties outside the Sphere had a relatively low military and industrial value, outside of the Mobile Base heading to Mars to begin the terraforming project.  
  
However, to the thirty men and women that had manned the station for 20 years, it was simply called the "Forgotten Star." The title certainly fit it well, it had once been a promising position to be in, when humankind had it's sights set on greater and greater heights. It was an unfortunate truth that the wars in the Sphere had limited the once great visions of the species, now it was simply concerned with keeping it's various parts and bodies peaceful and unbothered.  
  
The command station of P-8824 was little more than a monitoring station, the "Commander" on shift would simply drink a mug of coffee and read whatever News-vids made their way out this far. The only thing he commanded was a single space Leo on patrol, an extremely old model, as no one had seen the need for a lone outpost to be armed in any way. The Leo was their only weapon, and had only been brought on the original expedition as an afterthought.  
  
Liuetenant Jg. Ryan Simmons watched the vid-screen in front of him, boredly. For some demented reason, the only transmissions power enough to get this far out were re-runs of old soap operas. Simmons was a 43 year old man, and had been manning this station for the better part of his life. The boredom had ceased to get to him, anymore, he seemed as lifeless as this station. He wished he was down in the recreation area, the most crowded area of the base.   
  
The vid screen to the left of Simmons beeped insistently. The Liuetenant Jg. grunted noncommitally, and turned to look at the source. Through the monitor he could see the pilot of the space Leo, Private Akira Tomino. Tomino was a strange one, and one of the "Star's Children." Several people, back in the olden days of the Star, had made couples, and even had children. Those children were now coming of age, and Private Akira was the eldest of them, and the only one qualified to fly a mobile suit.   
  
"What do you want?" barked Simmons. Crappy soap opera re-runs or not, he wanted to get back to them.  
  
The private's left lip curled up in a gesture of disdain for the older man. He shook his head, and jerked a thumb left, a move meant to instruct Simmons to glance at the radar. The old man mumbled something about  
disrespect for one's elders before brushing the mug of coffee from the radar screen where it had sat.   
  
On the radar screen, there was a blip that, if translated to scale, meant that there was an object heading towards them. An object roughly three miles in length, half a mile in diameter, and was moving towards them faster than any asteroid could manage. It was about one thousand miles away, and was cutting through the asteroid belt, heading straight for them. Simmons spit up his coffee all over the screen.  
  
From inside his mobile suit, Tomino shook his head. The old never could keep their cool. It was a damn good thing he was here to be sure that things went smoothly.  
  
"I'll check it out," he said simply.  
  
And with that, the Leo held it's beam rifle in a ready mode, the back retros flared, and it took off towards the source of the mysterious blip.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Marameiya Khushrenada sat by herself on a bench, her arms folded over her chest. She glared out in space in front of her, not at anything in particular, but rather at the entire scene that was somehow, unbelievably, taking place. Children were playing catch.  
  
Not just that, but they were yelling and screaming and having a good time. Their parents sat on the set of benches opposite Marameiya, chatting away idly. It was a gruesomely happy scene. None of her relatives had ever done this for her. Instead of playing ball, she had played war. Instead of studying history, she had studied battle tactics and political weaknesses. To imagine such a simple life was simply beyond the eleven year old at this point in time. At that dark moment of her contemplation, a young boy came up to her, all smiles.  
  
"Hi! You wanna play ball?"  
  
Marameiya fixed a glare on him that would have melted the iron will of the best soldiers in the military. It was a useful trait, one she had learned well. To her chagrin, the boy simply shrugged and actually skipped away back towards a group of friends, kicking the ball as he went. Marameiya scowled unhappily, turning her head in the air with a huff.  
  
A hand laid on her shoulder gently.  
  
"Having any fun?"  
  
Marameiya didn't have to turn around, she knew hew it was behind her. She didn't feel like seeing the warm face of Dorothy Catalonia, the motherly smile on her features. Dorothy had taken care of her ever since her bid for power had come to an end, and she realized she was nothing more than a pawn of her relatives'. They lived together in Brussels, on the outskirts of the town in a modest apartment. Dorothy had thought that today would be a good day to bring young Marameiya to the park, so she could interact with children her age. Well Marameiya had some choice things to say about children her age.  
  
"Eleven year olds are idiots."  
  
Dorothy sat beside her, resting her hands on her knees. "You're eleven too, Mara."  
  
Marameiya scowled again. She hated that nickname. It made her sound like she was a dim-witted child, like the rest of them.  
  
"Don't call me that. I may be eleven, but I'm a whole lot smarter than they are."  
  
"Not everyone is a child prodigy, Mara. Don't worry, we don't have to stay here if you don't want to. How about we go for a walk to get some ice cream, instead?"  
  
Marameiya slowly turned to look at the almost glowing Dorothy. She had tried for four years, to give a home to the reluctant child. She knew that Dorothy had once been like her, her life battle after battle. It was the only reason that she had even agreed to stay with Dorothy, the thought of being with someone that actually understood her was at least tolerable, in a sense. Dorothy was even nice to her, something she was unaccustomed to.  
  
Besides all that, and no matter how smart she was, she WAS still an eleven year old. She wanted ice cream.  
  
Marameiya smiled at Dorothy. "Alright, but only if we go to the one downtown."  
  
Dorothy nodded, standing up. Hand in hand, the pair walked away from the park.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Liuetenant Lucrezia Noin's quarters at this time of night were dead quiet. It was a sparse room, the only furnishings the bed, vid-screen, and the computer. Clothes were strewn about the room, as if the occupant had never had much time to clean it. It was almost black, the only light came from the vid-screen, where the Liuetenant herself sat. She had peeled away the top of her jumpsuit, but left the pants and boots on. The only thing over her torso was a black tanktop, the kind most Preventers wore underneath the normal garb.   
  
Noin was still awake, and on the vid-screen, at this time of night because something had caught her interest. Namely, the young man that seemed to have such a desire to pilot the mobile suits. That wasn't the reason, of course, most Preventer Agents his age had that same desire. But there was something about him......something she couldn't quite place her finger on.......that intrigued her. That, and of course, the lack of a last name, had Noin wondering.  
  
The vid-screen bathed her and a part of the room behind her in a light almost too bright for the rest of the room. It rung again and again, that infuriating "Please Wait" logo on the monitor. Then, without warning, that message disappeared, and was replaced with the sleepy-yet-ever-alert face of Preventer Agent Sally Po.   
  
Sally smiled groggily upon seeing Noin, saluting with a yawn.  
  
"Hello, Miss Noin. If you were planning on calling me and hanging up as a prank, you failed miserably."  
  
A smile tugged at the corner of Noin's mouth. She and the former Alliance officer turned terrorist had been through a lot, in the old days. "I always did have bad timing on that one, Sally. How are you?"  
  
"Fine, Liuetenant, thanks for asking. But I seriously doubt that you called me at 3:30 because of some inane urge to see how I've been. How do you want my help?"   
  
Noin laughed, not too loudly, she didn't want to offend Sally's sleepy ears.  
  
"Well, I understand that you're in charge of recruiting new agents for the Preventers."  
  
"That would be me."  
  
"Well, then I'd like to ask you a question on one Trainee Slade. Who is he? I met him today during one of Zecchs' and Wufei's 'demonstrations'." By demonstrations, she of course meant mobile suit battles.  
  
Sally looked thoughtful, and took a moment to answer. "Never heard of him."  
  
Noin blinked in disbelief. "But aren't you the head of Recruit?"  
  
"True, but I can hardly be expected to remember every Trainee that comes through here."  
  
Noin smiled sheepishly. She hadn't thought of that. She really did need some rest, after all. "Sorry about that. But could you at least run a background check on him?"  
  
"Sure, if it'll get me back to bed."  
  
Noin shook her head. Sally was something, alright. "Alright, get back to your dreams. See you later."  
  
"Take care of yourself." Covering another yawn, Sally reached out a hand, and the image went black.  
  
Noin somehow managed to move her aching limbs enough to stand up, the chair being pushed behind her. She could worry about the strange Slade later. Right now, she was dead tired. She stumbled towards her bed, and was asleep before her head ever hit the pillow.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Trowa had practiced the next flip for hours. It was the highlight of his performance, the big one. By manipulating his limbs and body weight, and somewhat thanks to his training as a Zero G Gundam pilot, the flip actually let the man change the very direction of his fall about 45 degrees, where he would fall to safety on a platform held at the right angle. It was dangerous, sure, and Trowa had intended on using it for the big performance on Earth, but something quickly changed his reservations about that. Something he wouldn't have noticed had he not took an extra moment to look at Quatre before somersaulting.  
  
Namely, the sniper in the front row. Aiming right at him.  
  
His instincts took over with speed unparalled in the minds of most human beings, and all thought in his head ceased. With speed that was almost a blur, Trowa spread his limbs, and performed the manuever that he had practiced. The crowd oo'ed and aaa'ed, that is, until the bullet whizzed by the spot where he had been, striking near Quatre, who had hit the ground in a crouch, also out of instinct. Instinct was an important factor for Gundam pilots, it was their lifeblood, and the only reason they had survived through all the battles their youths had put them through.  
  
Trowa barely managed to right himself, impressive trick or no, it took nearly all of one's concentration to land after the manuever. Trowa plummeted downward, downward........  
  
And then Trowa Barton collided with the floor. A fifty foot drop. His scream pierced through the silence that had overcome the arena, and then all hell broke loose. People shouted and ran for all the nearest exits. The circus folk, including one Catherine Bloom, were so caught up in the rush of people that they hadn't a chance to get through the sea of bodies to reach their injured comrade. Only Quatre Winner was by his side, trying to check for a pulse, anything to see that his friend was okay.   
  
There it was. A pulse, faint, but it was there. However, it might not be much longer if nothing happened. If it had been anyone but Trowa.....  
  
Quatre stole a glance to the top row from where the sniper had taken his shot. Nothing. Damn.  
  
And before his concerns returned entirely the injured man's continued well being, he did something very unlike him.   
  
It would be hell to the person that had shot Trowa.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Wufei Chang leaped into the air, shouting a war cry from his native L5 colony as he went. He extended his right leg, thrusting forward with all his muscle strength. The man on the receiving end was caught off guard by the ferocity and speed of the blow, and was struck clear in the chest. He flew back into a wall, the metal resounding with a thud. As Wufei landed in his trademark tiger stance, the other men were on him like lighting, each yelling and shouting as they struck. Wufei danced between their blows, giving better than he got. No disabling blow got into the young warrrior's guard, while his tagrets were dropping like flies.   
  
"Having fun, Wufei?"  
  
Wufei dispatched of his last opponent with a chop to the throat, turning to face the Lightning Baron, Zecchs Merquise, Agent "Wind." He chuckled, throwing the other man a casual two fingered salute, as he bent to the floor to retrieve his towel. While he wiped the sweat off his face, the other men rose unsteadily from the deck. All present wore the jumpsuit that signified them as Preventers, and all were going to be sore and black and blue in the morning. The men drew straws every afternoon to see whom got the "privilege" of providing Wufei with competition; the ones who picked the short straws were that day's meat. All who had fought the day before were excused, fighting Wufei for any protracted period of time was considered suicide for one's well being.  
  
Wufei gazed over at Zecchs across the room, which was completely empty save blue foor mats, it was meant for this kind of sparring.   
  
"You may be better at Suits, Zecchs, but step into MY arena one day. Then we'll see who has the true skill."  
  
Zecchs closed his eyes, shaking his head almost imperceptibly.   
  
"So you've been telling me the past four years. Maybe soon I'll take you up on that challenge, kid."  
  
Wufei grimaced, he hated it when Milliardo called him that. But before he could leap across the deck and show Zecchs who was the "kid" around here, another officer strode in between them. Liuetenant Noin, wearing that self-satisfied smile she that seemed to be stuck on her face nowadays. Always the interloper, if it wasn't for her, Zecchs would have caught the beating he had earned long ago.  
  
"Now now, boys, don't make me have to break the two of you up again." She smiled mirthfully, and then slowly leaned back into Zecchs, her back resting against him suggestively. It was probably one of the only times that Wufei had ever seen Lightning Count blush. Noin had been getting a little more aggressive with her feelings towards Zecchs, and what may have been a serious friendship before, seemed to be growing into something far more deep. Too bad that the only person who couldn't see that was the object of Noin's affections himself.   
  
Wufei shook his head. Zecchs should stick to mobile suits, women were not his forte.  
  
But then again, since when had it been Wufei's, either?  
  
The men, seeing the officers distracted, took this as their exit cue. Quietly, as no one wanted to catch the attentions of Wufei again, they all stumbled and limped out of the room. So it was left empty save for the three officers, two of which seemed to be in deep conversation. Wufei had seen them like this a few times before, nothing he could say would take their attention away from them. Fools. They should give it up and get married, already.  
  
Wufei excused himself, none too politely, and strided from the room. He wiped his face over with the towel again, walking down the hall he knew almost from memory, know. When he removed the towel, he was forced to halt in his tracks, as three feet in front of him, stood a grim faced Lady Une.  
  
Grim faced. Wufei hadn't known her too look like that, ever.......except maybe four years ago......  
  
"What is it?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper.  
  
"You have to see it for yourself. Head down to Control, I'm going to get Zecchs and Noin."  
  
Wufei nodded, and dropped the towel where it was. He knew that this could mean nothing good, but in his soul, something seemed to awaken. The serious expression of Lady Une's could only mean one thing, that the Preventers were going to gave to go into battle. And that meant he, Wufei, would lead the charge in Nataku. Chang knew that battles were bad, but he could no more deny his true nature than he could the fact that his heart was beating with excitement, as it hadn't in a long time.  
  
Things might just get interesting, soon enough.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Relena Peacecraft had never, ever been in the emergency war room of the Earth Sphere United Nation. She had never even dreamed it would come into use. Opposing it's very existence, she had stated and believed that having a war room was simply a prelude to preparing for a war. However, her ideals could not stand up to the common sense of the more military minded Nation officials, so she had kept her peace and allowed the damned thing to be built. But she had never, ever expected to have to come down here, for any possible reason.  
  
She should have known better.   
  
And what a worse time, at that. Relena had finished preparing her speech for the attack on her ideals and purpose, and had been ready go online and recite it. The broadcast had already been prepared, and mere minutes were left until she was on the air, when an emergency envoy of the President had arrived, stating that Relena must go with him. When she resisted, he had told her just where they were going. That was enough, she knew that the President would not force her unwillingly into a room where bloodshed was a commodity, unless it was a total emergency.  
  
She should probably begin worrying about the emergency. The War Room was impressive, with 40 foot high titantiun walls, monitors and computer stations extended all the way to the top, ladders and narrow staircases implanted in the walls allowing for access to the ones ones at greater heights. The main Control Board was manned by five technicians, and was so complicated, with so many glowing and switching lights, Relena did not even bother to try and make sense of it. Instead, she walked beside the President, who stood directly behind those technicians, and was watching the monitors. Monitors that, normally, would be tracking the activity of every nation and organization in the Earth Sphere. Right now, they were all focused on one thing: a space station.  
  
The President spoke up, as if somehow he had detected her presence without hearing or seeing her.  
  
"Have you eevr heard of Outpost P-8824, Relena?"  
  
Relena couldn't say that she had, the name didn't ring a bell. "No, sir."  
  
The President's voice was shaky, and devoid of most of it's emotion. Strange Relena knew, the man hadn't been elected for acting like a robot in times of crisis.  
  
"I wouldn't think so. Well, it's a small station on the skirts of the Asteroid belt, the furthest thing we have out there."  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"Approximately three hours ago, the station detected a blip on long distance sensors. They reported it, and have been sending us reports by the minute."  
  
Relena's eyes widened, she was no stupid girl. "Somethings.........out there?"   
  
The President turned to look at her, and she could actually see his expression, one of horror and hopelessness. It froze her heart.  
  
"About twenty minutes ago, the station reported that the blip has changed into MANY blips."  
  
His emphasis on the word made her pause, but she could not help but ask, she was intrigued.  
  
".......How many?"  
  
At that point, a young brown haired man in a technician's uniform ran up to them. Sir! We have visual!"  
  
The President turned away from Relena, and back to the main monitor, which covered an entire forty foot wall. "Put it on the screen."  
  
Relena could hear the gasps, the collective intake of breath of an entire room. She turned to look at the monitor, to see for herself what could have everyone so worried......  
  
and her frozen heart seemed to leap out of her throat. There, on the main screen, was something she never could have imagined. A sight that her mind could barely comprehend. An Armada.  
  
The Fleet seemed to stretch across the stars, and block most of them out, the black hues of their ships seeming to mix with space perfectly, creating the illusion of a black void. Relena knew one thing immediately, that these were spacecraft. Spacecraft of a kind she had never seen before, and, judging by the gasps of everyone else, no one here had, either. She was also no fool on one other point of this endless legion of craft, they were all bristling with needlelike structures, small indentures in the sides, and glowing holes.  
  
Laser cannons. Hangars. Windows.  
  
"Oh god."  
  
She didn't even know the voice had been hers until a few moments after she said it. The rest of the roomj was as quiet as Death, all watching the awesome spectacle before them. Then, the technician beside the President spoke up, in a small voice:  
  
"One and a half million ships, sir."  
  
Relena didn't doubt it at all. She could only stare at the screen, a mix of wonder, terror, and suspense filling her soul.  
  
"Warships," somebody said.  
  
She knew that was true, too.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Only about a single kilometer from the glory of war arrayed before the Earth, Private Akira Tomino had a much better view than anyone. His voice caught in his throat, and he could only stare in shock.  
  
And that's when he realized that he was in a single space Leo, heading directly for the fleet.  
  
Maybe NOW he could lose his cool.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Dorothy Catolonia and Marameiya Khushrenada sat on yet another bench, but this time, both had ice cream cones in their hands. Marameiya seemed happy enough, licking at her cone like any other normal eleven year old would. Dorothy was very happy, and nothing shook her, till she heard the ring of the Public Address system come on. She turned, and saw the huge Public-Vid monitor on the side of the building. On it, there was the face of a newsreporter. She could hear the shocked cries of a thousand people all around her, the P.A. hadn't been used since the Marameiya War. Contrary to what newsreporters should look like, this one seemed so terrified that for moments he simply stared at something offscreen. Dorothy looked to the floor as Marameiya watched intently.  
  
"So it's begun, Mr. Treize."  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
And so it had.   



	4. The Cry that Shook the Heavens

Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200  
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction  
by Torankusu Senshi  
  
Chapter 3: The Cry That Shook the Heavens  
  
Wufei Chang leaned against the back wall of the crowded Preventer Alert Room, his arms folded across his chest. He was pretty much out of sight, or as much out of sight as any well known Gundam pilot could get. The room was a bit less grandiose in design than the Earth Sphere United Nation War Room in Brussels, but that didn't make it any less effective. The briefing seats were crowded to capacity, and Agents could be seen standing all along the walls. He had never seen it this crowded, all in all, there must have been about 400 Preventers in the room. Zecchs, being the new Leader of the Agency, had taken his spot at the briefer's podium, the ever faithful Noin behind and to his left, at attention. Normally the stoic warrior would take some time to mentally insult Noin for her undevoted love in some way or another, but not at the moment. There was more pressing matters at hand.  
  
Such as the one and a half million alien warships currently heading towards Outpost P-8824.  
  
Wufei seriously doubted they had any plans of being content simply with that. One did not bring one and a half million ships simply to confront an outpost with a grand armamnent of one space Leo.  
  
Then again, they were aliens, who knew?  
  
If there was one thing the pilot of Nataku was sure of, it was that he was taking this a whole lot better than anyone else present. Veteran Agents, the ones who had participated in the main business of the Agency, terrorist takedowns, were shaking and nervous. The newer Agents couldn't even stand or sit sill, they were trembling. The trainees in the back.....Wufei didn't even bother thinking about them. They were weak, yet. And he could well understand their fear, even if he did not posess it himself. They were the only Army left in the entire Earth Sphere, and their number of mobile suits and pilots didn't even add up to the number of the enemy's battleships. It was ludicrous, in every sense of the word.  
  
All the trainees seemed horrified, indeed. Except for one, that one in the corner with the blonde hair. He had no readable expression, other than resignation in his face. Wufei was good at reading people, he could only get that much out of the boy. It was as if he had......  
  
Expected this to happen?  
  
He pushed that thought out of the front of his head for the moment, but vowed to look into this young man later. As he had thought before, he had more pressing concerns. He turned his gaze back on the screen behind Zecchs, one a half million warships.  
  
"Interesting" had been an understatement.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Private Akira Tomino may think he was the greatest thing to happen to the Sol System since the advent of mobile suits. He may have thought that he was the best mobile suit pilot in the universe, despite the fact that he had only flown one beat up space Leo, and never engaged in actual combat, or simulated combat, or basically competed with anyone else. He may have been somewhat of a jerk with the women, and a real pisser with the men. In short, Akira Tomino was all these things, and a few less desirable attributes.   
  
The one thing Akira Tomino was not, was a fool.  
  
He knew WAY better than to challenge a million warships in his single, rusted space Leo. God only knew if even the damned rifle still worked, it ran on shells, not beams like the newer ones, and those shells had been sitting in the chamber, untouched, for roughly fifteen years. No, Akira Tomino was not a fool. At the first sight of the Alien Fleet before him, he did the only possible sensible thing he could do. He turned tail and ran.  
  
The space Leo turned around as fast as it's motivators could carry it, and blazed back at the Forgotten Star in a hurry. Tomino shifted all the power to retros, and the Leo acheived high speed, the bolts and joints creaking with the stress like that it hadn't been put through in years. He neared base, and Liuetenant Jg. Ryan Simmons voice came in over the comm, sounded panicked.   
  
"TOMINO! Get out there! Keep them away from the base!"  
  
He reached a hand away from the mobile suit's controls just long enough to shut off the communications system. He didn't need any panicked geezers telling him what to do. He would keep his cool, like always.   
  
That was when Akira Tomino suddenly realized he had nowhere to go. The Forgotten Star was right out here with those aliens. And the Earth Sphere........He mentally ran the calculations in his head. Though he had never been there, at the top speed of the Leo, asssuming it even had enough fuel to get that far, it would take approximately one month to get there. One month without food or supplies, he'd be dead long before he ever reached the sphere. Not to mention that fleet was likely to pass him before he ever got home. If he could consider someplace he had never been "home."  
  
And then, his long term worries ended.  
  
Forgotten Star had just been destroyed.  
  
He hadn't seen the source of the beam, but he had seen it just fine. It cut through space like a lance of pure sunlight, and connected with the base before he even realized what was happening. The resulting Nova as the built in generator exploded was like a small star, the shards of Akira's Home cutting through space like so many pieces of debris.   
  
He couldn't even see the result of the Nova, only a blur of colors. It took him a moment to realize that the blur was his own tears welling up in his eyes and running down his cheeks, was the cause of it. That had been his home, all his life. His family, his friends, everyone he knew, everything he had ever believed would stay......gone, just like that. He brought up a sleeve cuff to wipe some tears from his face.  
  
With an anguished cry, like that of a dying animal, Akira Tomino turned the space Leo around, and headed right for the alien fleet, his weapon blazing alive with cannonfire.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
One Hour Later  
  
Relena Peacecraft stood, dressed in her full addresss/speech dress, make up being added modestly to her features, in a small ready room to the side of the Great Hall in the capitol, Brussels. The President of the Earth Sphere United Nation stood near the entrance, quietly watching her get prepared for her Nation address. After the transmissions from P-8824 ended, they had worked quickly. The Advising Council of the President had known that there was no possible way to hide 1,500,000 Alien warships heading right for them, so the need for a public address to try to prevent a state of panic had been recognized. The call to the press had been issued, and all that was left was to tell the people the current situation.  
  
All that was left. She made it sound easy. She looked to the President, who seemed more grave than ever, and with good reason.  
  
"Sir, are you sure you shouldn't be the one giving this address?"  
  
He smiled warmly at her, that grandfatherly smile he was known for. Strange to see it in such an emotionally trying time.   
  
"Relena, I may be the elected President, but the people look to you to maintain order. They identify with you, and you have the ability to stir or calm people's hearts. It would be a grave mistake not to have you do this."  
  
Relena smiled back at him, despite herself. It was friends like these that were her support, all this time. The makeup was finished, and her attendants stepped back, each giving her their own words of support and encouragement. She walked to the entrance, and halted a moment. Beyond that door was the Great Hall speaker's platform.  
  
The President put a hand on her shoulder, smiling gently. Relena nodded, she had to do this, she knew. With the grace that only a former Queen of the World could manage, opened the door, and strided confidently out onto the speaker's platform. A million flashes accompanied her arrival in the Hall, the small lights of hundreds of portable cameras tracing her every movement. She arrived at the podium, placing white gloved arms gently on it. The President stood beside and behind her, so as there was no question who would be speaking. Relena waited patiently until all the noise had died down, which actually took a while. This was the first Emergency Public Address in the history of the Earth Sphere United Nation. When the noise died down, she smiled thinly before looking directly into the eyes and cameras of as many people as possible.  
  
"You have all been called here for a very important reason. An unprecendented event in all of human history has occured on this day. One that may very well change our future as a species."  
  
The Vice Minister was once again forced to wait until the general murmur of noise calmed down.  
  
"Approximately four hours ago, on the outskirts of the inner Sol System, near the asteroid belt and Earth Sphere United Nation Outpost P-8824, that outpost detected a ship. A ship not Earth in origin. An Alien vessel."  
  
What had been a general murmur before this had just blown into a full fledged uproar. It took nearly five minutes for security to calm everyone down so she could continue.  
  
"One hour ago, we received visual contact. We have confirmed approximately One Million, Five Hundred Alien vessels. They seem to be warlike in origin, though we cannot be sure at this time."  
  
For a change, it was deadly quiet. For a sure thing, the number she had just recited was running back and forth through the minds of them all.  
  
"At that point we lost contact with the Outpost. If you would turn your attention on the vid-screen, you will see the very recording that took place hours ago."  
  
And so the recording of the massive Alien Fleet was played back. The Hall, nay, the entire Earth Sphere was silent at the majesty and terrifying magnificence of the sight before them. It seemed that for once, Humanity was united fully at something. Wonderment and terror at what they would now face.  
  
And then, from one of the black spearhead ships, a beam of white annihilation leapt out, and static cut through the picture. And then, the final part, the worst part of the transmission by far, at least to Relena Peacecraft.   
  
That scream, that almost inhuman sounding scream of anguish. Then, the screen went black. Again, the Hall and Humanity were silent, awaiting Relena's next words. They had little other choice.  
  
"We have no idea of their current intentions, but the entire Preventer Agency has been put on a state of Red Alert. At the fleet's current speed, they will reach the Earth Sphere in approximately three weeks."  
  
Still, that dead quiet, as if the entire press had just lost their voices. Relena would normally take satisfaction in the fact that she had managed to shut them up, but the matter at hand was beyond such trivial things.  
  
"We will make more reports as information becomes available. Everyone, please, do not panic. Hold calm, and we shall previal in this trying times with our high ideals. Simply shooting at them will do no good, we have to genuiely try to establish communication. I wish the best of luck to you all."  
  
And then, the questions fired. More than Relena could possibly answer, or even understand. But before she had the grievance of trying to, she felt that warmm, reassuring hand on her shoulder again. She looked behind her, and saw the President. His way of telling her to leave, that he would handle the rest of this. She took the gracious offer, and walked off the stage, towards the ready room. When she had reached it, she closed the door quickly in a vain attempt to drown out the horrible shouts and demands.  
  
She had some thinking to do. Thinking about what her stand in all this should be, thinking about their next course of action, thinking about the Preventers and where to station them, she had so much to worry about, to adjust, in the three weeks she had to the aliens' arrival.   
  
But first, impending decisions or no, Relena had to do something, now that she was out of the public eye.  
  
She slid down against the door frame, till she was sitting on the floor, and cried.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Duo slowly reached over, turning off the vid-screen before him, stunned. Out of all the possible ways that he had imagined war returning to the peaceful Earth Sphere, this had never entered his head. His veteran mind was too realistic, too weathered, and the thought of One and half Million ships was simply beyond his comprehension. Much less the fact that they had just destroyed an outpost for no apparent reason, which probably meant that they had not come with any good intentions.   
  
He sat back down on his bed behind him, slowly. He was aboard his slightly cramped quarters in the scavenging ship. While not too comfortable, and about as big as a large closet, it was better he have his own room than have to cramp in with the others guys in the barracks.  
  
One and a half million ships?  
  
Duo's instinct told him to hop into Deathscythe, and take off for the nearest battlepoint, to stand his post and protect his race. But the Duo that had slowly evolved over the past four years was different. The old God of Death wanted nothing more than to sit peacefully on his scavenging ship, and wait for the end, or for the invasion to be one giant misunderstanding. He wanted to stay down here with Howard and the rest, and not have to worry about taking any more lives. He didn't want to have to worry about protecting Humanity, any longer. He was getting too old for this kind of thing, even at the young age of twenty.  
  
And besides, he had self destruced his old pal, Deathscythe, four years ago. He didn't even have a mobile suit to pilot.  
  
His eyes slowly went to the only other piece of furniture in the room besides the vid-screen and the bed. The shelf. And his gaze was drawn to one of the only things on it, a small data disk, with only one label one it......  
  
Duo got up from his bed, cursing under his breath. He walked towards the hatch to get out of here, he needed fresh air.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Quatre Rababera Winner sat quietly in his chair, the only one in the large white room. The only other person in the room was currently lying on the bed, and hooked up to all kinds of machines and medical apparatus. The only sound that pervaded the silence was a constant beeping, one that had been going on for hours. One that Quatre hoped would continue to go on beeping for a long time yet. He and Trowa were in the medical clinic aboard Colony X-18999, the home of the circus where Trowa had worked. It had been almost a day since Trowa had been shot, and he had been here most of the time. Catherine, Trowa' sister and partner in the circus, was downstairs getting herself and Quatre some food. Quatre had intended on staying here until Trowa had gotten better, and had assumed Catherine had done the same. The two were ill inclined to do much with one of their best friends injured, and facing death.  
  
Then, while Catherine was downstairs, he had witnessed the press conference Relena had held. That was twenty minutes ago, and he was still speechless.  
  
He understood the situation, and Humanity's crisis, probably better than most people did. He understood that the battles fought before had been nothing but a mere prelude, a footnote in history, to the real War. He was sure that War was coming, and that there was little he or anyone else could do to prevent it. He knew that, without heroes, without the Gundams, that the chances against the Species were even worse than the ones they know faced. There was only one thing that bothered Quatre, a realization.  
  
He didn't care. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that his friend, Trowa, be okay.   
  
So Quatre sat by Trowa's bed, and did nothing. He would worry about all of the rest of it later. When Trowa pulled through. He would not fail his friend a second time.  
_________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Liuetenant Noin had retreated behind the safety of the curtains a few moments ago. Zecchs had been going over primary ship assessments on the Alien's battle fleet, and she had felt the sickening urge to throw up. Most especially when he had come to the point in the briefing when he had reviewed the three mile long ship in the center of the cluster, the one that appeared to be the mothership/flagship, from the looks of things. It was the most deadly thing she had ever seen, Libra not excluded. She ran a trembling hand over her sweaty brow, wiping the moisture off of it.  
  
It was going to be an awfully long three weeks. She didn't even want to think about what lay beyond that.   
  
"Liuetenant?" came a whisper drom directly beside her.  
  
She whirled, about to tell the person to buzz off and pay attention to the briefing, until she noticed that it was Sally Po.  
  
"Sally? What are you doing here?" she voiced, in an equal whisper. Neither wanted to disturb Zecch's lecture.  
  
"I figured that at a time like this, I should be done at Earth headquarters instead of parading around the colonies. But, I have something for you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Remember how you wanted background info on Trainee Slade?"  
  
Noin's interest was peaked. There was something about that kid.....  
  
"Yeah, I remember. What have you got for me?"  
  
"That's the thing Noin, nothing. By all records, he shouldn't even be in the Preventers." As Sally said this, her usual calm face radiated a bit of the confusion that Noin herself was feeling. Noin was silent as she mulled that over, but she barely had time before Sally continued:  
  
"That's not all. I got a bit suspicious after the inital lack of findings, so I cut a bit deeper. Alliance and Romefeller birth records, Oz military files, White Fang potential recruit. Nada. So I went even more basic. Hospitals, birth certificates, any record at all that this boy exists. And I found nothing, Liuetenant. By all rights, he's a living ghost. I don't know what to make of it."  
  
Noin was silent. She may have thought the boy was suspicious, but that was not exactly what she had expected to come out of this. Something more like strange family ties, like that Marameiya child. But this was getting weirder by the minute....Sally spoke up again.  
  
"Anyway, I'm going to catch a few people, I have a few other things to take care of. Take care, and....wtach your back out there, Noin."  
With that, the ex-terrorist that Romefeller had once feared so was gone, and left a curious Noin wondering about what this could all mean. Despite herself, despite the current situation of red alert, something about this entire boy somehow seemed plain WRONG.  
  
She was so absorbed in her own thoughts and theories, that she didn't even notice when Zecchs adjourned the briefing. The flood of noise that was four hundred Preventers was completely missed by her ears, so into this she was. In fact, the only thing that shook her out of her reverie was the pale gaze and warm hand of Zecchs Merquise. She jumped, startled, and expected the man to take his hand off quickly, as he always did. However, this time, he let it linger there, and she found her own hand coming to rest on top of it.  
  
As if she didn't have enough to worry about with Slade and the alien fleet, there was Zecchs, had always been Zecchs....  
  
He smiled gently. "A little too much for you?"  
  
She returned the smile, feeling herself relax under the warmth of his gaze. "Just thinking."  
  
"So am I. Noin.......I......." Zecchs seemed to stumble for words, something quite unlike him. She was befuddled a moment, till she realized that Zecchs was trying to tell her something. Something very, very imporant. At that moment, her heart seemed to leap out of her chest.  
  
He was going to say it. They would both say it. They would have their long talk, discuss the feelings for each other they had harbored, and barely understood all these past years. In the face of such an Enemy, it was hardly the time to keep things hidden....  
  
She knew, though, that this was not the time. She did not want to have to worry about a new love between her and Zecchs to distract her from her current duties, as it surely would. Noin also had to admit to herself that this wasn't the way she wanted it: She didn't desire Zecchs to feel forced by circumstances to confront his feelings. All in due time, when time was right, when Fate had decided.   
  
She squeezed his hand gently. "Not now, Zecchs."  
  
He gazed at her a moment, that gaze that seemingly seemed to pierce into her very soul, that gaze that seemed to be able know her better than she knew herself. Then, the Lightning Baron nodded, smiling warmly again. That's when Noin thought this was over, for now. Until Zecchs pulled her into an embrace. Not a hug, but.......Oh god, she couldn't be thinking about this right now.  
  
So, without any further thought, she let herself melt into his side, and embrace him back.  
  
Time seemed to pass slowly, and it was impossible to tell how long the two of them stood there, locked together. Both were content, they could do little else. The lights dimmed, and yet they stood there, content in the knowledge that they had always been there for one another, that they were the only person who really understood the other one.  
  
All in due time.  
  
In the balcony overhead, Slade sneered.  
_________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The annoucement that would change everything, for ever, had just disappeared. In it's stead the soap opera Hilde had been watching had returned.   
  
She wasn't much interested in soap operas at the moment, anymore.   
  
She could deal with this news. Hilde had never been self-serving, she wouldn't cry and mope about it, as she was sure a good percentage of humanity was going to do. Hilde was all for a purpose, and right now, she had found one again.   
  
She knew a man, a man that wouldn't want to fight anymore. He had changed over the years, and she was afraid he would neglect his responsibilites. The God of Death would have to take up his old stead, like it or not. Hilde wished, she really did, that the both of them could simply live out their days in relative peace, but again, she wasn't one for moping. There was a job that needed doing, and she was going to do it.  
  
Duo needed her.  
  
She got up to get her jacket, and charter the next flight from the L2 Colony Cluster to Earth.  
_________________________________________________________________________________  
  
And so, the playing field had been set. The battleground of Destiny was ready.  
  
However, the players were not all there. There were far too many people, and some that should be heading for War were not. Destiny had many atcs left to play before the Final Act was ready.  
  
But it would come, and at that time, Everything would be decided._________________________________________________________________________________   



	5. The Call to Destiny

  
Chapter 4: The Call to Destiny  
  
Marshall Reeves, the head Delegate assigned from the L1 Colony Cluster, was elated at this turn of events. The arrival of the Alien Armada was sending all of Humanity into a downward spiral, just the kind of environment he needed to fulfill his plan.   
  
He rested his chin on the tops of his folded fists, he was in what he had liked to call his Inner Sanctum. Namely, his office in space. The scene behind him was one of beauty, the Earth in all it's blue and green glory portrayed against a black field dotted with stars. It was possibly the best view of space to be had in the entire L1 Colony Cluster, the man, unlike some of his peers, took full advantage of being the Representative to the Earth Sphere United Nation. He was, though it was unknown to most public interests, the man with the most power and influence in all the Colonies, most of which he wielded behind the scenes. Possibly the richest Delegate of the entire republic of the Earth Sphere, no one knew any of it. If there was anything that Marshall Reeves enjoyed most, it was his privacy.   
  
But he was ecstatic about this turn of events, indeed. He had been planning on somehow disrupting the field of power held by Relena Peacecraft, and this was the most perfect chance he could possibly have. Not to mention that he had an excuse for military buildup in his Colony Cluster......  
  
Things were perfect. After he dealt with that pesky Alien fleet coming, he could turn his attentions to the Earth Sphere United Nation.  
  
United. What a joke.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The deck of Howard's scavenging ship was dead quiet, as were the seas about them. Not a single wave or overactive current were to be found, it was almost eerie. Most of the crewmen were below deck, talking quietly in the recreation room, or reflecting in whatever space they could be alone. If anyone had bothered to check, they would have discovered that it was much the same all over Earth. The Colonies were a bit different, people were more outspoken about their feelings there then on the Homeworld, but the overall mood was maintained. It was as if a premature day of grieving had begun.  
  
Or it simply could have been a preparation for the battle that was to come. But sooner than that, a war of the words was to take place. Ironically, this argument would be just as important as many other events of the past few days, and would be the deciding factor of the turn of events for days to come.   
  
Hilde Schbeiker jacket closer against her skin, she was unused to weather out at sea. She turned to look at the now dwindling form of the chopper above, still feeling the heat of the vertical afterburners on her face. She turned to take a quick look around, hoping against hope that she was lucky enough to encounter Howard or one of the few crewmen first, for some reason she was reluctant to do what she had come here for.  
  
Today was not Hilde's lucky day.  
  
Across the deck, leaning against the small rail that was the only thing between him and the ocean beneath him, Duo Maxwell stared at her, his jaw seeming to touch the floor. Despite the gravity of her purpose here, she giggled like a schoolgirl. Duo was a good friend, and she had hoped to surprise him, anyway.   
  
Despite that, he didn't move from his position at the rail, still leaning against it. She knew that posture. That was the patented Duo-Maxwell-Sit-Back-And-Relax/Reflect on How Life Blows posture. Even at the age of twenty, the man still wore his priestly garments. She knew he wasn't she'd have to ask him about that someday. Slowly, almost shyly, she made her way to him, stopping a few feet in front of him.  
  
"Hi, Duo."  
  
At this point, Duo realized his mouth was still open, and closed it in a hurry.  
  
"Hilde?! What are you doing here? How did you find me? What....where...?" He seemed genuinely confused.  
  
Again, she giggled, tossing her hair back before answering.  
  
"You are not Heero, Duo. Once I wanted to find you, it only took about two days, and a few favors. What, a girl's gotta be a Gundam pilot to track down her favorite boy toy?"  
  
Duo blushed at that, while glaring at her. At least he was still easy to bother. For her, anyway.  
  
But, like everything else, the mirthful moment passed, and Duo's face took on the expression of one haunted. His single blonde braid lay behind him, over the railing, his arms folded across his chest, one knee bent, and his face grew dark, his jaw taking that stubborn and serious set to it.  
  
"We both know you aren't here to chit-chat, Hilde. What do you want?"  
  
She sighed, it couldn't be put off any longer, no matter how much she wanted to.  
  
"Shouldn't you be somewhere, Duo?"  
  
He arched a single brow, as if he knew the meaning, but didn't want to hear it. "Somewhere?"  
  
"Like maybe with Zecchs and the Preventers?"  
  
His face grew darker, if that was possible. She sighed inwardly, this was not going to be easy.  
  
"Why, pray tell, would I have reason to be there?"  
  
At that, Hilde jerked her head in a motion to the sky, meaningfully, and she became a bit flustered.  
  
"I don't know, maybe a silly little thing like One and half Million Alien warships heading towards us?"  
  
The hard set of his jaw seemed to crack a little, but he only became more stubborn.  
  
"It has nothing to do with me."  
  
"Nothing to do with you? Nothing to do with you?! Duo, this has everything to do with you and everybody else!"  
  
He stared into her eyes, so hard she almost looked away. But she didn't.  
  
"I've done my share, Hilde. You of all people should know that. One more Mobile Suit pilot wouldn't make a difference, not with what they face. I just want to stay where I am."  
  
This sentence almost broke Hilde's heart. It was true, if Fate dealt out shares, Duo had done enough for a few of them.  
  
"Duo, I'm sorry you feel that way. But it isn't about you. It's about the people that need you, up there and down here."  
  
"Why would they need me?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper.  
  
"People look to you Gundam pilots for hope, Duo. Five years ago, when everything was turned upside down on it's head, you were the only people who knew what to do, the only ones who made the right stand, the right choice. If you abandon them now, you'll have done all that for nothing."  
  
Duo finally broke his stare, looking dejectedly at the floor.  
  
"It was all for nothing, Hilde. Don't you see? We're all going to be destroyed, conquered, enslaved, whatever those damn aliens want to do with us. There is no hope, not with what we have now."  
  
Again, her heart almost snapped, but she refused to give up on this.   
  
"So you're just going to give up?!"  
  
He seemed startled by the volume of her voice, and his head jerked back up, an unreadable expression on his face. She continued, not giving him the chance to say anything:  
  
"Just like that, huh? Two years of constant fighting, back then. Trial after trial, and in the end, you won, despite the odds. And now, you're just going to give it up?! No, Duo, that's not the Duo I know."  
  
His face twisted in an expression of despair. "The Duo you know is gone, Hilde. I've grown up."  
  
"Don't give me that! You haven't grown up, you're just feeling sorry for yourself!" She outright screamed this at him, and he looked even more dejected. This wasn't working.... She spoke up in a quieter tone, but one that pierced through him as sharp as a knife:  
  
"Listen, Duo. The people out there don't need another wimp, right now. They need heroes. Like it or not, you have the strength, skill, and the obligation to do this. No one else can do it, Duo, everyone else is weak. Whether you like it or not, you must. I know I'll be out there, I'll be fighting. Because it's the right thing to do, Duo."  
  
With that, she turned around, not ready to hear anymore. She stormed off, to where, she knew not, it was not like she could get away from Duo on a ship in the middle of the Pacific. But he didn't try to stop her, only let her go. She headed below deck, intent on finding Howard, the old man was good at calming people down.  
  
Behind her, Duo stared, in shock.   
  
The right thing to do.......  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The Preventer Mobile Suit Simulation Room was more full than it had ever been. There was a line to use the Taurus and Leo machines, something unprecedented in the room. Most pilots were revolted by simulations, instead preferring the hands-on expertise of piloting the mobile suits in the Training arenas. Those, however, were currently already full, and here yet more people were training, in any way they possibly could. The Preventers might be nervous, but they were a family, they would fight together, as one. They would die together if necessary, they had fought for a greater purpose, the high ideals of the Earth Sphere United Nation. Now, they fought for it's very survival.   
  
Lady Une smiled gently from where she stood near the officer's exit of the room. She was proud of them, they were rising to the occasion as best they could. This was not enough, surely, if they were to do battle with the aliens they would need a lot more than this group. But for now, no matter how dire the outcome looked, their determination and heart made her proud. It made it seem like this was enough.  
  
On the giant vid-screen on the southwest wall, the real time video of a battle was taking place. The competitors were again Wufei and Zecchs, piloting Altron and Tallgeese, respectively. Their battle was more fierce, more desperate, than any they had ever displayed over the course of the years, and for a moment Lady Une was concerned for their safety. She quickly dismissed that, however. They were veterans, they knew what they were doing. But despite the ferocity and majesty of the battle on the screen, no one watched. They were all too absorbed in their own preparation to worry about the skill of anyone else. Admirable.   
  
All the preparation in the world wouldn't be enough, but she was glad for it, just the same.  
  
She ran her eyes over the room, startled as always to notice how young most of those present were. They were all boys, the oldest of them being maybe nineteen, if even that. Nowadays, combat was instilled at a younger age, the success of the Gundam pilots had been a testament to that practice.   
  
Briefly, she wondered how many parents would be child-less in a few days.   
  
The thought terrified her, so she pushed it out of her mind. She had a unit to command, and though many might, and in all likelihood, die, she would be sure that the cause of their premature deaths was a fault in training, or lack of dedication. It was the best way to honor Mr. Treize's memory, so she had little choice, if she was to be a living example of his beliefs.  
  
Still, quietly, she said a silent prayer.   
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Marameiya Khushrenada cried out in protest, not the first time this hour. Dorothy smiled at her, placing a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I have to go, Mara. I'm needed."  
  
The two of them stood in the airlock of two adjoined ships, a cargo freighter. The half to the right would be returning to Earth, the one left would be on it's way to the L3 Colony Cluster. It had been a trial to even find a freighter going out this far, the L3 Colony Cluster would be the first thing the alien's massive armada would reach when it arrived on the Earth Sphere. Needless to say, ships bound for that destination were few and far between. People who wanted to leave even had trouble, all those with any kind of interstellar transport had used it long ago, within a few hours of Relena Peacecraft's initial broadcast. Dorothy needed to get on this flight, it was the only way she could reach the Cluster in time.  
  
Mara's bottom lip stuck out stubbornly. It was amazing how childish the girl could be, even with a mind greater than that of most adults.  
  
"I want to go with you!"  
  
Dorothy smiled again, resting a hand on the child's shoulder. "Not this time, Mara. I couldn't possibly take you into what is going to be the first Battlezone of this War. Don't worry, I've left a message, when you arrive back in Brussels Ms. Relena will pick you up and take care of you while I'm away."  
  
This didn't seem to appease the girl any. It just appeared to make her even more upset. But she said nothing, instead looking at her friend with an expression of childlike anguish. Dorothy kneeled down until she and the daughter of Treize Khushrenanda were face to face, and kissed her on the cheek.  
  
"I'll be back within the week, Mara. Be good for Ms. Relena, okay?"  
  
The girl scoffed at that, but after a stern look from Dorothy, nodded. At that moment, red lights around both hatches of the tube lighted, and sirens started blaring. A voice called from the cockpit of the ship on the right:  
  
"Hurry up, ladies! Takeoff in two minutes!"  
  
Marameiya then did something completely unexpected, by either of them. She threw her arms around Dorothy's shoulders, and hugged her fiercely. Despite the words of Dorothy, they both knew that there was a large risk involved here, one that was entirely dependent on the nature of her task. Reluctantly, Mara let go, and took a few step backwards into her side. Dorothy followed suit, and the chamber disconnected. They were left staring at each other as the space between them grew, and finally, dwindled to nothing as the stars filled the viewport.  
  
Dorothy Catalonia pressed a hand to the window, resting her head against the glass. She had a job to do, one that Mr. Treize had entrusted to her, one that she could not fail in. It had been his last request, and no matter what, she had to fulfill this, if she had ever had any respect for that great man. She just hoped she would see Mara again, and soon. She and the girl had begun to develop a bond, a mutual understanding and affection, and she didn't want to lose that.  
  
And the two of them would see each other again, although not soon, and in circumstances that would have been better being avoided at all costs.   
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Howard watched Hilde closely in the crowded compartment that was the "Bridge" of the scavenging ship. More like a room with monitors spread sporadically, and the only steering mechanism on the ship, but it was the closest thing they had to one. The girl before him held a mug of coffee, and seemed very troubled. She had bursted in on Howard while he had been going over the inventory about an hour ago, and subsequently, she had confessed her feelings and the nature of her conversation with Duo to him. Howard knew that there was little he could say that would help, so he kept his peace, only offering her a drink and a few moment's rest.  
  
As she brought the mug up to her lips to take another sip, the hatch opened. Howard turned to see Duo walk in.  
  
Something was wrong.  
  
He knew it from the boy's entire posture. His head was bent down, he was looking at the floor, even as he walked inside, into the bridge he knew by heart. His normal, confident stride was gone, in it's stead was a slow and hesitant walk. The shadows of the poorly lit bridge room cast the man's face in eerier shadows, making him seem darker already then he had. There was a small mini-disc case in his hand.  
  
In a voice quiet, deadly quiet, but carrying an undercurrent of resignation, or maybe determination, Howard wasn't sure, Duo spoke:  
  
"I need you to build something, Howard."  
  
That in itself was not an unusual request, the boy asked for relatively small things to be constructed from the materials of the wrecks they had been to rather frequently. But something in his tone of voice....  
  
".......sure, Duo. What is it?"  
  
Saying no more, Duo only pressed the mini-disc case into Howard's hand. Then, the enigmatic boy turned, and walked just as quietly from the room as he had came. When he was gone, the girl looked at him, her face full of curiosity. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't intrigued, so he turned the case over in an attempt to get a good look at it's label. He did, and immediately wished he hadn't. Hilde gave a small gasp of shock, and the two of them were quiet for a long time afterwards. Howard didn't want this, but if he needed to, he needed to.   
  
The label on the case was rather straightforward, and written in simple black marker:  
  
"DEATHSCYTHE HELL" CONSTRUCTION PLANS  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Zecchs Merquise sat quietly as his desk in the Commander's office room of Preventer HQ. He had returned from his training session with Wufei a few minutes earlier; the somber young man was still out there practicing. Zecchs had deigned to quit the battle for the day, he needed time to think, and to lay out their strategy. The lives of a race were resting on his shoulders. It was a burden he abhorred, but one that had rested on him before, and one that he tolerated.   
  
The image of Noin forced it's way into his mind, despite his attempt at concentration. He devoted all his willpower to push it away, he didn't need this, not right now. The woman was something special, but if Zecchs was too distracted, or failed, the chance for him to discover what they truly felt for each other would be gone, just the same. No distractions.  
  
At his moment if quiet conflict, a sharp rapping could be heard on the wooden door directly across the expanse before him.  
  
"Come in," said Zecchs in that noble, commanding tone he had mastered so well.  
  
A young blonde haired boy entered, looking rather sheepish. His name tag read "Slade", which Zecchs did not really take into consideration. The name of one trainee was unimportant compared to the task before him.  
  
Not wasting precious moments for the boy to gather up his courage enough to speak, Zecchs took the initiative.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
The boy's sheepish manner seemed to disappear at the commanding tone, his back arched a bit straighter, and his eyes focused. It was as if he had turned into a soldier merely on that one interrogative of his. A good trait in warriors, and found within most of the higher echelons of the Preventers, but within a trainee? That was strange....  
  
"Sir, Lady Une had sent me with a message. Three ships have pulled away from the formation of the Alien Fleet and increased their speed. At this rate, and their current trajectory, they will reach the L3 Colony Cluster in approximately 5 hours."  
  
This was not welcome news. Zecchs had depended on having three weeks to go over mass battle tactics with his soldiers, but it seemed Fate was not so forgiving. Three warships? With the size of those monsters, he would need every Preventer he could muster, depending if they had smaller combat units inside, or not, there was no way to tell, really. There was only one real decision, so Zecchs made it without thinking twice, something he would regret later.  
  
"Tell the Lady to put all of HQ on full mobilization. I need as many Mobile Suit carriers as she can procure. The Preventers will be there when the aliens arrive."  
  
"Yes, sir." the enigmatic boy turned and practically marched from the room, also an unlikely trait in a trainee. However, Zecchs was too busy with his decision making to take anymore notice of the boy's strange behavior.   
  
L3 Colony Cluster. He was certain that there would be the first battle of only an upcoming War. It would be the deciding place, it would give him information on the enemy's capabilities and tactics. Three ships, it was as if they wanted to be tested...  
  
No matter. He had a mobile suit to prepare, Tallgeese III.   
  
Time for battle.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Everything was dark, and muddled. His senses seemed to be coming alive, albeit slowly. A sharp twist of pain tore through his right side, and he winced. Flexing his muscles experimentally as his vision slowly returned, he came up to a sitting position. Whatever was beneath him, was hard and unforgiving as a bed.  
  
And then his vision, as well as his memory returned, and he immediately wished it hadn't.  
  
The room he was in was a dark purple, the surfaces seemed to glow with a kind of radiance he had never witnessed in normal metal. The entire room was bare except for the hard metal shelf beneath him, and a viewport to the side. It was the sight from the viewport that made him wish he was blind again, or preferably dead.  
  
A million black warships, bristling with weaponry, blocking out the stars. And they were very, very close.  
  
It was at this point that Earth Sphere United Nation Private Akira Tomino realized two simple things:  
  
His attack had failed miserably, and he was on an alien spacecraft.  
  
And two, he was in really deep shit.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
  



	6. The Battle that Sprung from the Depths o...

Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200  
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction  
by Torankusu Senshi  
  
Chapter 5: The Battle That Sprung From the Depths of Hell  
  
The L3 Colony Cluster was normally a quiet place. Despite the fact that it was the center of business for the Winner Foundation, traffic was relatively low, all business was conducted over vid screen. As, for years, it's most powerful and influential family had been total pacifists, it had a rather peaceful atmosphere to it. According to the Earth Sphere United Nation policy, it had a complete lack of any kind of mobile suits or weapons. They were peaceful people, had always been, and had never seen the need for weapons of war.  
  
Unfortunately, the choice was no longer theirs to make. The Cluster was formed almost like a sphere, with the center being completely empty, a space meant for traffic and deep space demonstrations. Normally, there would have been commercial ships flying to and from Colony to Colony crowded this space. Today, it was fairly empty.  
  
Unless one counted the legion of mobile suits gathered in it, and the three colossal one mile long warships heading for them.   
  
The Preventer mobile suits were a sight to behold in their massive numbers. Tauruses floated side by side in well ordered regiments, as if they were human troops. The space Leos stood at the back, flanking the main Taurus units on either side. All in total, 800 mobile suits, the entire strength of the Preventer Agency, was gathered in the space before the L2 Cluster. The distant sun gleamed off their titanium alloy, and within each one was a scared but determined pilot. If this crisis had posessed any good effect, it would have been that the Preventers were now a family with a single goal: Defend their home at all costs.   
  
Gundam Altron, and it's anxious pilot, Wufei Chang, stood at the front, but a little to the left. With it's glowing laser trident, dragon fangs, heavy armament, and ready battle stance, it would have given even the bravest human warriors pause. Too bad the incoming enemy was not human.  
  
The mobile suit of Lucrezia Noin also stood to the side, but on the right, as opposed to Wufei's left. It was a white Taurus, an out of place color next to the black ones behind it, and, just like Altron, had been heavily modified in recent months. It bore the regal colors of the once proud Sanq Kingdom, and bore two beam rifles, one in each hand. It seemed itself much like a royal guard, which was fitting due to the person to the immediate left of the mobile suit:  
  
Zecchs Merquise, in Tallgeese III. The mobile suit held it's shield firm in one hand, and it's now infamous Mega Cannon in the other. It's combat stance seemed somehow noble, princely and dignified, which would suit the man inside just fine. The posture was most likely due to the Zero System it used, Zecchs' very mind served as the interface for the Mobile Suit's controls and it's mighty limbs.  
  
The sight of the Preventers was one that no sane army that ever existed would dare to challenge. Even without the horrifying sight of it's heavily armed legions littering the starred fields of space, one would have paused simply at the thought of the roster. Zecchs Merquise, Wufei Chang, Lucrezia Noin....Possibly the best army that had ever been assembled.  
  
And deep in his heart, Zecchs knew it was yet not enough.  
  
The three one mile long warships continued their indifferent approach, seeming to make the large army before it small by comparison. The face of Relena frowned at him from the screen to his left, inside the cockpit of the Tallgeese:  
  
"How much longer, Zecchs?"  
  
Zecchs didn't turn to answer it, but he smiled with that side of his face. "Are you that anxious to see us battle, sister?"  
  
He didn't even have to see the girl's face to hear the indignation in her words. "Why you..."  
  
And then, it was time. "Quiet, they're here." With one hand, he flipped off the long range communication system, and the screen bearing Relena's face winked out of existence, replaced by scrolling numbers and threat assessments. As had been decided, the Leader of the Preventers would deliver an ultimatum to the invaders. With that same hand, his finger flipped the switch of the wide broadcast, everyone in Earth and the Colonies who turned to his frequency would be able to hear him, now. Most notably the aliens before them. He did his best not to let the simple though that they were about to engage ALIENS give him the creeps, spoke up in his most commanding tone:  
  
"Alien invaders. You have entered an area under protection by the Earth Sphere United Nation. I order you to cease and desist. If your intentions are not peaceful, we will be forced to engage you."  
  
For a long moment, the entire communications band stood silent, in a mimicry of the space around them. Then, their answer came loud and clear, a single from the battleships:  
  
From the sides of all three battleships, legions poured out. Legions of mobile suits. Alien in origin, definitely, but at this distance, he couldn't tell. They were biped machines, that much was certain. They seemed to pour out like the Great Flood, hundreds upon hundreds of them. They blazed towards their newfound opponents in perfect synchronization, getting closer to make out some detailts. They were biped, and had two arms, one of which held what appeared to be a gun, and the other what was definitely a laser saber. They were black, and masses of black tentacles slithered from behind them. The entire Preventer Comm Channel seemed to gasp in horror.  
  
And then, Zecchs saw the mobile suit at the front of the legion, the one heading dead on toward him. It was something he had seen before, and though he never spoke of it to anyone, had seen it in his very nightmares:  
  
The Gundam Wing Zero was leading the pack of Alien Mobile Suits.  
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Unlike a few days before, when the room had been respectfully quiet, that was not the case at the moment. The Earth Sphere United Nation War Room was the very epitomy of ordered chaos, with men running from station to station in an attempt to cross reference readings, others running around to find things out, and other simply doing it because they had no clue what was going on. The President stood by the main control station, watching the scene on the main monitor with a grim face.  
  
Relena Peacecraft stood by the communications station from which she had been talking to Zecchs, and later listened to his ultimatum. She now watched the scene on the vid-screen as well, however much she wanted to look away, something inside her felt it would be a disrespect to those that would die today. She would honor their deaths as best as possible, by watching them die. It was all she could do.  
  
On the screen, the legions of allied and opposing mobile suits clashed. The screen switched to a distant view, probably taken by one of the L2 Colonies themselves. She could see the spears of light that marked the laser beams, the flashes of blue that marked retros and thrusters. It was a scene from the very depths of Hell, something she had once hoped never to see again. The alien warships themselves continued their merciless descent to the battlefield, monsters in their own right, and maybe more terrifying than the actual battle.  
  
She heard a technician speak up, in a confused voice to the President.  
  
"Sir, Agent Wind has reported an anomlay in the enemy's mobile suit legions......"  
  
Agent Wind, that was Milliardo. Relena was not watching, her eyes were glued on the battle, even as men ran back and forth, doing the best to correlate as much data as they could. But the President's irritated voice came back loud and clear from the few feet in front of her he was:  
  
"Well, what is it?"  
  
"Sir, the Gundam Wing Zero appears to be leading the pack of alien mobile suits, and has just engaged in combat with Mobile Suit Tallgeese."  
  
The President was quiet, as was anyone that was close enough to have heard that. Wing Zero was a symbol, the symbol of a War fought for Peace, of a man who had dedicated his life to showing Humankind the folly of it's ways. To have it at the head of the enemy's mobile suit force.....  
  
Relena did not care for that part, or for the Gundam, for that matter. Wing Zero had been supposedly destroyed years ago, but if it was back, there were only 2 known pilots in the entire Earth Sphere that had ever been known to completely master that system. Zecchs Merquise, the Lightning Baron, and....  
  
"Heero?" she asked in a small, fearful voice.   
  
She stood quiet, as if her brain had shut down, throughout the chaos that followed.  
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The battle was ferocious on a scale unmatched in any in human history thus far, with it's only rival being the final battle of the Eve Wars. The awesome speed and agility of the Preventer Tauruses was matched, if not exceeded, by the enemy mobile suits. They were less heavily armed than their alien foes, but the determination filling their spirits overrode their fear at what they fought. If the aliens had any sense from this battle, the would have seen that Humankind was an instinctively warlike and violent species, they fought as if posessed.  
  
The neatly ordered regiments that had stood tall before on both sides had been broken up, and what ensued could only be described as chaos. The battle was hazardous to friend and foe alike. Beams of lasers cut through the air, destroying mobile suits from both sides with extreme prejudice. When their laser cannons had run empty, most shots going wide of their targets, they had drawn their sabers, and many now engaged in duels of will and strength with the other.  
  
So it went. Beams crisscrossed, engines flared, explosions cut through the air. It was a positive whirlwind, and impossible to follow. The peaceful people watching from the L2 Colony Cluster were silent in their horror, watching, the only thing they could do. Mothers held their children, fathers remained silent, and young people cursed their own weakness for not being up there, not fighting for the future of their race.  
  
Gundam Altron would later be described as "Death from Above" in the aftermath of the battle. It's pilot screaming mad battle cries, the Gundam tore through any who dared to stand in it's path with a single minded ferocity that even alien mobile suits seemed to hesitate at. One moment dueling and destroying a larger mobile suit, the kind that seemed to serve as commander for the others, the next moment it was on the other side of the field, tearing through an entire group of them. The flame thrower blazing flames all over the area, the trident cutting through enemy mobile suits as if they were made of paper, Wufei piloted his Gundam with a reckless abandon like he hadn't since the Eve Wars.  
  
Liuetenant Lucrezia Noin's white Taurus mobile suit dueled with two opponents, and held her own. Deespite their speed, agility, and powerful tentacles that seemed to serve as secondary arms to render suits useless, Non evaded their blows, her cannons blazing in return fire. No thoughts coursed through her head, none but the overwhelming sadness that she was in the midst of battle again. This only seemed to infuriate her more, and her battle with her two opponents grew even worse.  
  
Tallgeese III and Wing Zero were at the center of this veritable whirlwind, dueling, like they had all those years ago, when one of the pilots was a simple child. They had both foregone their powerful beam weapons, instead relying on their sheilds and laser sabers to attack. They danced the dance of war, their blades leaping out at each other, blocking and parrying. The gears in both suits shifted so quick that the Zecchs' ears were ringing from hearing the sound of them. The massive legs fired retros in different directions constantly, the momentum reversing, the physics of battle changing with the engine direction.  
  
Zecchs yelled in desperation as his mobile suit's shield barely managed to intercept the blade of the Wing Zero:  
  
"Heero! Are you in there?! What is this?!"  
  
The Gundam's lifeless, yet foreboding gaze was his only answer. That, and the rapid succession of beam strikes that even the Lightning Baron was hard pressed to counter. Again, Tallgeese reeled from the merciless assault of the Wing Zero. Heero had always been a good combatant, even had defeated Zecchs soundly in battle during the Eve Wars, but this.....this was madness. The Gundam was using Heero's style, certainly, but it lacked the cold yet deteremined detachment that it used to posess. In it's place was a passionate and ferocious fighter, who fought with skill that was hard to defend from.   
  
"Heero!"  
  
Again, that lifeless stare from the eyes of the Wing Zero was the only response.  
  
Then, something in Zecchs snapped.  
  
With a bloodcurling cry from it's pilot, the Tallgeese lashed out in moves so quick that the Suit's joint activators threatened to break under the pressure. Unrelenting, Zecchs stabbed and slashed, and the Wing Zero fell back before the onslaught. That was when it did something that Zecchs hadn't expected, and something he would regret later.  
  
It drew it's Twin Buster Rifle, brought it up to aim directly at the charging Tallgeese, and fired.   
  
Zecchs, using all of his instinctive reflexes, and the saving speed of the Zero System, managed to hit his boot retros at the last moment, and the Tallgeese blasted up and above the beam. The beam of sun colored annihilation lanced out, hundreds of mobile suits being destroyed in it's wake. A million cries could be heard over the communications, all of them Human. But the one that pierced Zecch's senses was one certain cry, the cry of Lucrezia Noin.  
  
His savage set of mind was erased completely, the only thing he wanted to do now was to get to Noin's side. Nothing else mattered.  
  
The Tallgeese III spun from it's unexpected opponent, and used all of the power of it's thrusters and retros to rocket at the spot where Noin had been. The backwash hit the Wing Zero dead on, and the Gundam fell back yet again, temporarily halted. Zecchs could make out the white Taurus, and it seemed as if he would make it there, in time. The speed he traveled at almost rended his mobile suit to pieces, and forced him back into the seat.  
  
Unfortunately for the desperate warrior, it was at that moment that the Warships themselves arrived on the field.  
  
Beams of power leaped from their hulls, slicing through Preventer mobile suits with pinpoint accuracy. The Tallgeese III dashed with all it's speed across the battlefield of death, not even bothering to evade potshots from alien mobile suits that were shot at it on his journey. And, he was there, his mobile suit's arm reaching for the body of the white Taurus....  
  
At that point, a beam of white energy shot out from the nearest warship. It seemed to grasp Noin's Taurus, enveloping it in blinding light, so much so that Zecchs had to look away or be blinded. When the light dimmed, and the scared Lightning Baron looked around, the Taurus was no longer there.  
  
It was, instead, drifting into a hatch on one of the alien warships. The hatch closed, and much to Zecch's dismay, the ship began retreating at impossible speeds back towards it's massive Home fleet. The other two flanked it on either side, going at a lesser pace. The alien mobile suits seemed to go on a massive retreat, all returning to the giant holes in the ships from whence they came.  
  
Zecchs was so shocked by the outright capture of Noin, that it took him literal minutes before he regained himself. At that time, only one warship remained. Zecchs turned to his communications, yelling for the Preventers to assemble and attack the last warship.  
  
All he got was static.  
  
His mobile suit turned slowly around, and for the first time Zecchs got a good look at the battlefield. Wreckage was everywhere, littering the field like if it was a garbage site. Besides the wreckage of a few, the alien mobile suits were completely gone. Outer Space was completely silent.  
  
The Preventers were gone.  
  
Before his mind could fully register the magnitude of death that had taken place today, his mobile suit was slammed into by something. Slow on the uptake, it took the Tallgeese a moment to spin it's giganic metallic body around. He saw Gundam Altron, and hear his friend's voice over the comm:  
  
"We've got company! Watch out, Zecchs!"  
  
Then, alien mobile suits descended upon them. Zecchs mind went blank of all thoughts of Noin and the Preventers, and he went into battle mode again.  
  
Mobile Suit Tallgeese III and Gundam Altron stood side by side as the circle of mobile suits descended upon them in a flurry. There must have been ten of them. Metallic arms and glowing blades lashed out, shields blocking attacks, only barely. This went on for an uncountable amount of time, until Zecchs could hear Altron, beside him, fall. Wufei shouted in fury as he was overcame by the attacks, his Gundam being sliced into.  
  
And then Zecchs stood alone, the battered and scarred Tallgeese holding it's pink beam saber firm, next to it's disabled companion. The enemy mobile suits charged at him, intent on blood.  
  
Zecchs reached quietly for the self-destruct mechanism of the Tallgeese III. If he was going to die, these bastards, sure enough, would accompany him to Hell.  
  
And just before he pressed the button, three of the enemy mobile suits exploded brilliantly, painting the black starfield orange and red, shrapnel pounding into Tallgeese's viewscreens. While the explosions covered the mobile suit's viewing screens, Zecchs could only hear the secondary explosions, and feel yet more shrapnel hit his suit. Then, it was silent.  
  
The cloud of debris slowly cleared, and Zecchs finally saw the stars in the vid screen, again. Expecting to see the destroyer of the enemy mobile suits, he saw nothing except the blackness of space. Then, without warning, something appeared against the background.   
  
Death stared Zecchs in the face.  
  
Gundam Deathscythe Hell, more to the point. It's beam scythe held in both hands, floating in that trademarked fear inspiring stance, and it's impressive wingspan arrayed fully behind it, the cheerful voice of Duo Maxwell rang in over the comm.  
  
"Who ever thought I'd be saving your ass?"  
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The hospital room of Trowa on colony X-18999 was not the most spiritually motivating scene one could find in the Earth Sphere. Quatre Rababera Winner and Catherine Bloom sat beside the bed of the injured Trowa Barton, both wearing that look of fearful hope, mixed with exhaustion. Neither had gotten any sleep for a long time, the varying condition of the young man in the bed was the only thing that mattered to either of them. Empty cups and wrappers of food lay beneath them, things bought from Hospital vending machines. Catherine, though she sore that look on her face, was somehow managing it in her sleep, the young brown haired girl snored softly from her chair. Quatre was looking out the window beside him, out at the stars. The spars, where he probably should be.....  
  
And then a loud, booming voice interupted Quatre's reverie. "Master Quatre."  
  
Quatre spun around in his seat, turning to face the person who would dare interupt the moment of quietness, or adress him during such a grave time. The smiling face of his old friend, Rasied, gazed back at him. Thw man took a small bow, and Quatre found himself at a loss for words. He hadn't seen or heard from the Magonac Corps in years.....  
  
"I was told I could find you here. How are you?"  
  
Quatre managed to shake himself back to the present situation. "I'm fine. Trowa could be better."  
  
The behemoth of a man turned a sympathetic eye on the young man in the bed. " Yes, it is too bad about Master Trowa. However, you must now leave his side, Quatre. I am sure Mistress Catherine will take care of him."  
  
Quatre was slow on the uptake, he was tired at the moment.  
  
"Why should I leave?"  
  
Rasied smiled, almost glowed with pride.  
  
"Your Gundam is waiting outside, Master Quatre."  
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Relena Peacecraft once again stood in the Great Hall speaker's podium, for the second time in as many days. The flashing lights were again upon her, and as much as she might want to shield herself from them, she did not. She stood, proud and regal, ready to deliver her newest announcement. The announcement that would change her world, and affect the world of everyone else for all time. She didn't want to, but....  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, once again I come before you to address you on the manner of the Alien Fleet approaching us."  
  
As they were all too often these days, the press was dead silent. They knew Relena would tell them.  
  
"Four hours ago, in the L2 Colony Cluster, the Preventer Agency encountered three alien warships, and engaged their mobile suits in combat."  
  
There was a small murmur, but nothing else.  
  
"The Preventer Agency has been completely destroyed."  
  
Then, everything was chaos. The outraged shouts and cries of millions of people reverberated through all the Earth Sphere. Relena waited quietly before continuing:  
  
"As of a half an hour ago, the Council of the Earth Sphere United Nation made a decision. All mobile suit factories have been reopened, and all old mobile suits are being recommisioned. The Earth Sphere United Nation Armed Forces is now a reality, and for one good reason:"  
  
They all knew what was coming, but kept silent, just as well.  
  
"As of 7:30 pm, on this day of May 17, A.C. 200, the Earth Sphere United Nation is officially at war."  
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	7. Tortured Souls

Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200  
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction  
by Torankusu Senshi  
  
Chapter 6: Tortured Souls  
  
Agent Wind, Zecchs Merquise, Milliardo Peacecraft. Each had once been the name of the former prince of the Sanq Kindom, the person who had, just recently, led the souls of one one thousand brave men and women to their deaths. One thousand. The best soldiers he had ever known, and probably ever would. Each had dedicated their lives to keeping the peace within the Earth Sphere, each had risen up and beyond the call of duty in their previous battle. Veterans, and friends, now gone. All he had left was a handfull of mere trainees, and they were being sent out as commanders in the Earth Sphere United Nation Armed Forces.   
  
In his heyday at Oz, Zecchs Merquise had fought for honor, for the revenge of his beloved Sanq Kingdom. In his following days as a renegade, he had fought any who would oppose total pacifism, much like the Gundam pilots had. In the era of the Eve Wars, he had succumbed to his own inner demons and lost hopes, and took the White Fang out on a mission to destroy the Earth. He had always had reasons for fighting, reasons that most people would have been proud to stand up and say they would gladly die for. The reason these thoughts ran through his head was simple, Zecchs Merquise no longer knew what he was fighting for.  
  
One week remained until the arrival of the Alien Armada. The entire thing, not simply three warships, such as he had fought before, with so many on his side. One and a half Million ships, each most likely carrying a complement of those fearsome mobile suits they had encounted, the ones that had hurt them so. The Armed Forces of the Earth Sphere United Nation were becoming ready for War, with literally millions of mobile suits and soldiers already commisioned. The Armed Forces mobile suit count at the date of the arrival of the Alien Fleet was expected to be nearly 20 million, which was far from what it needed to be, if they were to have any chance at survival. He had even heard a rumor that the old battleship Libra and the now junk heap Peacemillion were undergoing restorations. He didn't care, the Libra was symbol of his days as harbringer of doom to the Earth, and he wanted no more part of it.  
  
One thousand men and women.  
  
Zecchs was in his spacious quarters in the new E.S.U.N.A.F.( Earth Sphere United Nation Armed Forces), which was formerly Preventer HQ. The only furniture in the room was a desk and a bed, and the only ornament a single picture on that desk, despite the room's impressive size. That picture was one taken two years ago of him, Noin, and Relena. The only two that mattered to him, anymore. His little sister, whom he was more proud of than she could ever possibly know. And Noin, Noin whom had always been there for him. Noin, who had trained his fellow soldiers in combat, had stood by his side, even at the end. Noin who had been faithful, loyal, and the best possible friend he ever could have asked for.  
  
Zecchs was in love with Noin. It took her probable death to notice that.  
  
And he had failed her.   
  
She had been there, her shredded white Taurus so close to the reach of the giant hand of Tallgeese. Then, she had been taken from him, taken into the depths of a warship that had slaughtered her comrades. If she still was alive, which he doubted, no doubt she was going through the worst of all horrors imaginable.   
  
All because of him.   
  
He shouted in rage, sitting up from his bed in a flash, and slammed his fist with all his might into the wall beside him. It stung like hell, the wall was made of metal, like most everything nowadays, but he ddin't cry out, not even as blood ran down his knuckles and onto the wall, stinging his hand. He drew back his hand and did it again, as if he was intent on punishing himself for the failure to protect the one he loved.  
  
"You can break your fist like that."  
  
So intent he was on hurting himself, he hadn't even noticed the arrival of Lady Une. He mumbled something, incoherently, swung his legs off the side of bed and onto the floor. He remained seated, looking at his bloodied knuckles with interest, as if he didn't want to face her.  
  
Lady Une sighed. She had been expecting this kind of reaction from him, and had hoped against it. With one gloved hand, she pulled up the chair from the desk, and, sat down, facing Zecchs. The blonde haired man barely turned his head up in an acknowledgement, the shadows casting his eyes in a dark light.   
  
"It isn't your fault, Zecchs. You had no way to protect Noin, or any of them, during that battle. You were fighting the Wing Zero, it would have been nearly impossible for you to defeat it in any length of time to make a difference." She said this, despite the fact that she knew not whether it was Heero in that Gundam.  
  
"I am not a simple child, Lady. Do not patronize me." His voice came back, low and noble, like always, although strained.  
  
"Sometimes we need to hear things we'd rather not, Zecchs. Your priorities should be on avenging your comrades, and saving Liuetenant Noin."  
  
"Noin is dead." his voice had that same tone, as if he was by will forcing it not to break.  
  
"How do you know, Zecchs? I have seen the battle records brought back from Altron and Tallgeese. Her Taurus was on the edge of that beam from Wing Zero, and her suit seemed disabled, but it is very well possible they could have captured her alive."  
  
"She couldn't have survived that blast."  
  
"She never gave up on you. Are you going to do it with her? That would be an injustice, one she doesn't deserve." She stood up, and from the way Zecchs almost jumped, she knew her words had hit their intended mark. Knowing that he must be alone, to reflect on what happened and what he must do, she headed for the door. Before she could step out into the lighted hallway, however, she heard Zecchs voice:  
  
"It was him."  
  
She stopped where she was as if she had been shot. Slowly, silently, she turned to face Zecchs, who now stood tall in the center of the room, the half light from the open doorway casting all of his body in light but his face. It was an eerie sight. He spoke again, as if to clarify himself, although the Lady already knew what he meant:  
  
"Heero was piloting that Wing Zero, Lady."  
  
Looking at the eerie sight of Zecchs Merquise a moment longer, she turned and stepped out of the doorway, the hatch closing behind her.  
  
Zecchs stared at the door, still. Heero had been in that Gundam, alright. No mistaking his style and ferocity, his one minded drive to accomplish his goal. Having dueled with the man extensively five times in his life, Zecchs knew it, without question. The words of Lady Une had also alerted him to one thing:  
  
Until he was aboard that alien ship, holding Noin in his arms, alive or dead, he would not give up. Even if he had to slaughter every damned alien in that fleet, by himself.  
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Dorothy Catolonia pulled up on the stick of the ship she had rented. It was a small craft, meant to shuttle only one person in and between colonies, not entire clusters, as it was know being forced to do. It was painted in the red and white hues of the Earth Sphere United Nation, and was shoddy enough in appearance and control it might've been put together originally by Duo and his scavenger companions. She cursed under her breath, something she rarely did, these days. The wreckage of a few thousand mobile suits surrounded her, deep in the center of the L3Colony Cluster, where the battle that was now being referred to as "The Preventer's Last Stand," had been fought a week ago. She was terribly late.   
  
Upon the confirmation that the spaceways of the L3 Colony Cluster had been turned into a warzone, her once 'brave', and she used the term loosely, space pilot had decided that those areas were too risky. He had made an emergency landing at Colony X-18999, where most traffic had been diverted to. Unable to find transport to the L3 Cluster, she had been forced to watch, as all the rest of Humanity had, as Relena Peacraft, the once peace minded girl, had declared War on the rapidly approaching alien fleet. Dorothy shuddered to think what must have been running through the mind of that girl, she knew her well enough to know that Relena aborrhhed violence, in any form. Much less the simple fact that in doing so, she had likely just sent millions of warriors to their deaths, was not any more comforting a thought. No, Dorothy was glad she was not Relena, that she wasn't forced with that decision, but she had a job to do, much the same. And the fate of Humanity depended on her successful completion of it, maybe as much as Relena declaring war. So far, everything had gone as she had been foretold.   
  
So, after the Declaration of War, she had went on a manhunt for ships, and for a relatively low price, managed to procure the junk heap she was currently behind the controls of.   
  
She was too late.  
  
The Alien ships had retreated back into the blackness of space, whatever mysterious purpose they had come to fulfill completed. All that was left behind was the funeral zone of the Preventer Agency and the silent, terrified minds of the entire L3 Colony Cluster. She had come out here in an an attempt to see if there was anything she could find out, and information she could make use of, or even a signal that her mission need not be completed, but after a cursory check, knew there was only wreckage.  
  
A quick glance at her fuel gauge told her that she didn't have enough to make it all the way to the Earth, again. She would have to make a stop at Colony X-18999, refuel, and return to the Homeworld at that time. A long and tedious trip, but unfortunately, a necessary one.   
  
With that, the little Colony Hopper Shuttle began it's slow 180 degree turn, and faced the direction from where it had come, the graveyard of the Preventers behind it.The engines flared, and the little ship took off, leaving behind only a blue trail of engine flame, the dashed hopes of Dorothy Catolonia, and a thousand dead souls.  
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The Gundam-Class Mobile Suit Hangar of the E.S.U.N.A.F. was roughly one mile long, and half of that high. Built into a giant bunker beneath the Earth, it was the perfect place to house the multitude of mobile suits that the Preventers had once utilized.  
  
Now, it was simply the resting spot of four mobile suits. All stood right next to each other, all bearing the same lifeless look, that one that could turn from inanimate to terrifying, all depending on whether their respective pilots were in them. Their massive frames stretched to the ceiling, with railways and balconies being the only access to the higher points of the suits. Their massive armament was in place, and their equally huge power generators were turned at a low level. This way, if any more emergencies were called upon, the four mobile suits could be launched at a momen't notice.  
  
Gundam Deathscythe Hell, recently restored and looking none the worse for it, stood tall, it's huge bat-like wings wrapped around it's body, it's inactive yet still intimidating beam scythe held firm in one limp Gundanium hand. The rjust repairedGundam Altron, the one so resembling a dragon coiled and ready to strike, stood equally silent and foreboding, it's trident held in one hand, a large claw extending from the other.   
  
The only mobile suit not a Gundam in the Hangar, the Tallgeese III, still wearing it's newly earned battle scars, stood a bit less tall, but none the less intimidating. The Mobile Suit itself managed to posess somewhat of a regal air, the two titanium hands resting on the hilt of it's Mega Cannon as if it were a royal scepter. It's large, almost wing like shields were behind it, and the balconies themselves had to be modifed to fit the entire width of the mobile suit in the Hangar.  
  
And the one that had just arrived roughly an hour ago, newly built like the Deathscythe, and still gleaming a metallic sheen in the glowing lights, Gundam Sandrock. The weapon seemed far less intimidating than it's brother Gundams beside it, a throwback to the creator's peaceful nature. The only visible signs of warfare on the entire Gundam were the two large metal heat shotels, one held in each hand. Despite the other apparent lack of weaponry, simple those two large weapons, each half the length of the Gundam itself, would inspire fear in it's enemies.  
  
On one large metal balcony, a railing that went the entire length of the hangar, and was meant for the pilots to exit on, three men stood. The last time they had seen each was when they were boys, and had done this for a living. Now, they were men, and though they regretted returning to the old life, they knew they had to. Two regretted it, at least. Wufei Chang was happy for the challenge, yet resentful for the loss of his comrades. He leaned against one railing, his arms resting over his chest.  
  
Duo Maxwell posessed his usually cheerful demeanor, though if one knew him well enough, as these others did, it would suggest otherwise. His trademark long golden braid hung off the railing, the one on which he leaned opposite Wufei. His arms supported him from it, and he grinned widely at their new arrival.  
  
Quatre Rababera Winner stood in the center of the metal platform, his arms folded in his chest. Duo noticed, not without some smug satisfaction, that both Wufei and Quatre's faces had lost their boyish roundness and innocence, looking more mature and angular, while he looked almost exactly the same as he had four years ago, albeit a bit taller. He spoke up, in a tone that suggested mock-grievance:  
  
"So they got you too, eh, Quatre?"  
  
The new President of the Winner Foundation smiled gently. "Nobody 'got' me, Duo. I chose to come out here, after I heard what happened with the Preventers."  
  
Wufei's gaze pierced into Duo, his face set in hard lines. "If you're too scared to be here, you can always go back to your hole."  
  
Duo huffed, indignant. "You know me better than that, nothing escapes the God of Death, Duo Maxwell. Lighten up you two, I was just trying to shed a little light on things."  
  
Quatre smiled at his old friend, nodding gently. "I know, Duo, and thanks."  
  
"It is a shame about Trowa, though. We really could use him out there. Any idea who took the shot at him?"  
  
The young man's cheerful facade dropped, and Quatre looked at the floor. "No one got a good look at him, and by the time we got organized, he was long gone. He could have been any of a million people, it wouldn't be the first attempt on our lives that have been made since the Marameiya War. As for Trowa, the doctors don't know when or if he'll return from the coma. I left Catherine watching over him."  
  
Duo's smile dropped, and he stared hard at Quatre, a stare that was almost as hard as any Heero or Wufei had ever given any of them. "And what about the Heavyarms?"  
  
Quatre rubbed his forehead, as if this was too much for him to handle. He didn't want to see his friend Trowa head off into battle the moment he got better, but they all knew Trowa well enough. He would pilot a rusted space Leo to battle, if he had to.   
  
"Raseid told me that him and the rest of the Magonac Core will rebuilt it for him. They went off to who knows where, they never did tell me where their new hiding place was."  
  
"Yeah, those guys sure like keeping their secrets, nowdays. But hey, soon enough, Trowa will be back, and we'll all be together again. Then, nothing will stand in our way."  
  
Before Quatre could whole heartedly agree, Wufei spoke his mind. "I don't now what the two of you are so happy about. There are one and a half million alien warships heading right for us, and with Heero piloting the Wing Zero in their aid."  
  
Duo turned to face the other man, frowning. "But I assumed that wasn't Heero. I mean, how could he have gotten back into space, and with Wing Zero, no less?"  
  
Wufei leaned off the railing, turning to face his beloved Nataku, and began walking, his boots clanging against the metal ramps.  
  
"Zecchs fought him. He says it was definitely Heero. The two of them have fought each so much that I don't doubt it a moment."  
  
Before the two other stunned pilots could think of any other comeback, Wufei spun around to face them, his face seeming perfectly calm, but his voice betraying a hint of anxiety. "Just remember, that next time we go out there, we'll be fighting Heero. Can either of you do that? Can you fight your vaunted champion, as simply as you battled me, four years ago? I don't know about either one of you, but I can and I will. I saw him murder hundreds of my comrades with that twin buster rifle of his. I won't soon forget, and neither should you."  
  
Quatre Rababera Winner and Duo Maxwell stared in silence as Wufei headed for Gundam Altron across the metal platform.  
  
Neither of them really knew what to say, to that one.  
  
But both dreaded the moment that they would find out the answer to it.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________   
  
Akira Tomino was hungry. He had woken in this small room with the giant window for what seemed like days ago, and he hadn't yet been fed. He assumed it was simply that the aliens didn't know what to give him, or that he needed to eat: if they wanted him dead, they would have slaughtered him, days ago, when he had the gall to attack their fleet in one barely armed twenty year old mobile suit.   
  
There was nothing much that he could do, in the small room. In his first hours of waking, he had contented himself with thinking of all kinds of horrible things he would do to any alien murderers that came to feed him. When that hope proved false, as no feeders came, he had busied his mind with coming up with any plans of escape, and hopefully to some kind of weapon that he could use. Unfortunately, as he knew nothing of the area beyond his room, and the room itself was simple, locked, and with nothing he knew of that could open it, that also died rather quickly.  
  
So, when push came to shove, Akira Tomino stared out the window of his room, at the fleet of a million warships. He gazed at their terrible magnificence, and waited for the time when they would either destroy the Earth Sphere, or when his captors would enter, and finish his miserable existence once and for all.   
  
Countless hours passed, and all he could do was stare at the Fleet of Death before him. He couldn't remove his eyes from the spectacle anymore, even if he had wanted to. Then, his door opened, and he assumed the end had come.  
  
If it had, it had come in the guise of a twenty something year old woman who was terribly injured.  
  
Before he could see how she had been shoved into the room, the door slammed shut just as quickly. He stared at her in shock, glad he had decided not to give up and go to the bathroom in his clothes, quickly. The woman was certainly beautiful, with mid-length black hair, large blue eyes, and a black jumpsuit that fit her form nicely.   
  
She stood shakily, almost falling, and gazed about, her eyes seeming glassy. She finally managed to fix her gaze on him, and he noticed that she was holding her side, a side in which the black jumpsuit she wore had been soaked red. She stared at him, deliriously, then mumbled a name that he thought he would never hear:  
  
".......Zecchs?"  
  
As if that one word had taken all of her energy, she actually did fall, collapsing on the floor in a heap. Akira was at her side in a moment, he finally had a companion, and, selfish or no, he wasn't going to lose her. He knew rudimentary first aid, and would do the best he could, under the circumstances. Ripping off her shirt as quickly as possible, he did the same with his own, momentarily glad she wore a tanktop underneath it. Tearing only the side of it, so she could preserve her dignity, he pressed his shirt into her side, and wrapped it around her midsection in a makeshift bandage.  
  
After the few minutes it took him to completely fasten it and be sure the woman was asleep, he turned his attention on the jumpsuit shirt. If she had, like had thought, been captured in a similar manner as he was, then she was military, and should have her name tag on her shirt breast. Lifting up the blood soaked garment with one hand gingerly, he searched the left breast, then the right, and sure enough, it was there.  
  
"Liuetenant Lucrezia Noin, Agent Fire, Preventer Agency, Earth Sphere United Nation." he said aloud, as he hadn't heard the sound of his own voice in hours.   
  
Preventers? Liuetenant? This was way over his head. However, the thing that troubled him most was the name she had uttered before her collapse. He may have only ever lived at Forgotten Star, an unimaginable distance from the homeworld, or the place where the Eve and Marameiya Wars had taken place, but he did have a vid-screen, and he did notice news broadcasts. Zecchs Merquise, ex leader of the White Fang, and leader of the Preventers. And the way she had said the name, it seemed almost....  
  
Affectionate. Hopeful.  
  
She must know Zecchs Merquise awfully well.  
  
He sighed, resigning himself to her wait for her to wake up, and inform him of how she got here, and why.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Relena was happy, or as happy as she could be, with the current situation and all. She was in her one room apartment in a small building in Brussels. Contrary to popular belief, she did not own three palaces and a mountain home. Her apartment was small, but cozy, a one bedroom affair. Currently, she was resting on her large princess bed, dressed in nothing but the long shirt she had slept in.   
  
The reason she was happy was that she had managed to get a week off, the rest of the time until the Apocalypse came calling. Marameiya Khushrenada had arrived a few nights earlier, and it was interesting to speak with the eleven year old prodigy that had declared war on the entire Earth Sphere just four years ago, when she had been a mere seven year old. The girl's intellect certainly hadn't suffered any with age, if anything, she had grown twice as smart as Relena remembered, which was scary in it's own right. Unfortunately, the good mood was to be short lived, as she fully awakened.  
  
She had declared war. She had stood on that podium, under the eyes and hearts of the entire Earth Sphere, and told them that they were going to war against an alien fleet of 1,500,000 warships. She had renounced all her peaceful beliefs, given in to the simple fact that there was nothing she could do, and had taken the easy route. Humanity would go to war with the Aliens, and it would die. Of this, she was sure. Humanity could only survive in the first place because it had become peaceful, five years ago her brother Milliardo had proved that well enough.   
  
The thing that irked her most was that they and the aliens knew barely anything about the other. The other race had entered and simply began destroying things, and, much as she might resent and even despise it, they would have to retaliate. They would have to make their stand, once and for all, or face destruction. It seemed that was the only possible way, or one of a million other horrible fates that the aliens would decide on. Whatever the case, she did not intend to leave Humanity to the mercy of another species, one not even from the Earth Sphere. She would fight, and, again, much as she hated doing so, she would lead the charge.  
  
The next thing that irked her, well, didn't very much irk her at all. It terrified her to a point that she questioned everything she had every known.  
  
Heero Yuy, her Heero, had been piloting the Wing Zero at the battle of the L3 Colony Cluster.   
  
Shaking the thought off, not wanting to deal with it, she sighed.   
  
That was when she heard a scream from the kitchen.  
  
She practically leaped up from her bed, running with all her speed across the apartment, her long shirt being blown behind her. She could only hope that the scream wasn't Mara's, the girl was finally starting to get on with her life, it wouldn't be fair....  
  
And she arrived at the kitcen. The scream HAD been Marameiya's. The girl was crouched in the corner, a look of utter terror on her childlike features. She was trembling uncontroallbly, so much so that Relena grew fearful.  
  
Until she saw her puppy, Darlian, playfully licking the leg of Marameiya. The girl screamed again, and shouted when she saw Mara:  
  
"This THING is attacking me!"  
  
Relena laughed so hard and so long that Marameiya almost died of embarassment.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
And while the warriors each had their thoughts, their own inner sufferings, Armageddon yet descended upon them all. They would be glad for these days, the days when they had time to think. Soon, things would start happening, and they would barely be able to keep up, much less stop and reflect.   
  
And if they couldn't keep up, they would die.  
  
The young man currently hospitalized, attached to a set of machines to keep his life going, was one such key player in the events about to come. He would wake, as everybody hoped. He would play one of the most important parts in this trial of life that Destiny had laid out.   
  
Trowa Barton sleeped soundly at the moment, unaware of the Alien Doom descending upon his friends and family, his comrades.   
  
But he would be aware, soon enough, and he would be faced with the choice none of us ever want to face.  
  
Destiny was a cruel thing.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________   



	8. Plans for Defense/Unexpected Attack

Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200  
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction  
by Torankusu Senshi  
  
Chapter 7: Plans for Defense-Unexpected Attack  
  
The once proud breifing room of the Preventer Agency was no more. It retained it's cramped feel, despite it's immense size, it's colorless black walls, small black seats equipped with vid screens, and the 40 foot main monitor, similar to the one found in The War Room. However, it's affiliation had been changed. It was now the E.S.U.N.A.F. Base of Operations and Planning Center. Instead of the hundreds of young pilot brimming with enthusiasm, it was now home to merely the same amount of squadron commanders. They were all dressed in the badge and black colors of the newly formed Earth Sphere United Nation Armed Forces, and most of them carried an air of nervousness about them. Only the few that had participated as commanders or pilots during the Eve and Marameiya Wars, of which there were few, posessed an actual commanding air. All types of rank patches were worn on their left breasts, and they sat and chatted nervously among themselves. Each one represented a battalion, brigade, or squadron, each had the lives of others resting in his hands.  
  
Wufei could tell that Zecchs hated this kind of gathering. The man was a few feet from the podium, his arms folded, looking down at the floor. Blonde locks of hair covered his expression. It was much better to talk to the pilots themselves, to get to know the men that would be piloting gigantic mobile suits in the Sphere's defense, the ones that you would soon be sending to their deaths. Wufei had never been a commander himself, and never wanted to be. The only responsibility and command he desired was the freedom to do as he wished, and the ability to fight for causes he chose, in the way he chose it. He needed only himself, and Nataku. Everything else was overrated, especially 'friendship.'  
  
Heero had taught him that, a few days ago.  
  
Unlike the rest of those present, Wufei and Zecchs forewent the E.S.U.N.A.F. garb in favor of their Preventer jumpsuits, a sign of respect to the men they had fought alongside with. Duo and Quatre, feeling a bit out of place in a such a large formal military meeting, kept to a small corner, talking in hushed whispers. It continued like this for some time, until Lady Une spoke up from the podium.  
  
"Everyone, quiet down. You all must know by now the current situation, so I will not be getting into that. However, with the arrival of the aliens projected to be in about two days, you should know what we have found out so far, as well our strategy for battle when they arrive. First, I'll give you the report of alien capabilities that we've received."  
  
Wufei noted, not without some wonderment, that Zecchs wore a blood stained bandage around his hand. Lady Une continued in that loud, commanding voice.  
  
"The Alien mobile suits encountered on May 17 by the Preventers are of right now, one of our primary concerns. As far as we can discern, there are two classes of mobile suits used by the enemy. The first is the generic type, what we have codenamed "Tentacle,"for the mass amount of the tentacles outfitted on the suit's back. The second seems to be the leaders of the Tentacle types, and we have dubbed that brand "Angel," for instead of tentacles, large metal wings resembling angel wings have been placed."  
  
She tossed her head to look at the technician in the row immediately in front of the briefing stage, brown hair swinging behind her to rest on her shoulder. "Put Tentacle on the screen."  
  
With that command, the main monitor sprung to life, and the image of the Alien Mobile Suit called Tentacle appeared, almost life size, on the screen. Even as a simple picture it was a foreboding sight. It stood a full meter taller than any mobile suit, and it had the simple paint scheme of jet black. It's arms were more tiger like than human like, with the fists ending in huge, sharp claws. In the right set of claws, held firmly between the giant metal fingers, was a beam gun, in the left was a beam saber, as Preventer pilots were forced to learn the hard way. The legs seemed standard mobile suit fare. The mass of tentacles protruding from a small hump on it's back, and the seemingly helmeted visage of the suit made it look like a living nightmare.  
  
"Tentacle is lightly armed, with only a beam rifle and a beam saber held in each of it's clawlike hands. The legs seem weaker than most mobile suit legs, and the only purpose we can discern is to stand up and house the massive retros that make it a speed demon. Tell your squadmen to be careful, this thing moves at almost the speed of the original Tallgeese."  
  
Small murmurs could be heard throughout the room at that remark, everyone here was well acquainted with the obscene amount of kills that Zecchs had gotten through the use of his Tallgeese, and it's mortifying speed.  
  
"The most deadly feature of this mobile suit is the tentacles, from which we derive it's codename. We have some footage of these in use, so take a look and see for yourselves."  
  
After a quick order to the same technician, the screen flickered off a moment, then bright back to life. On it, for a moment, nothing but the peaceful and soothing sight of outer space could be seen. Unfortunately, the screams of dying men over the communications relay drowned out any relaxation effect it might have had. Men screamed and shouted warnings to each other, screams all eventually cutting off, replaced by a quick burst of static, then nothing. The only thing that could be seen of this was a few stray laser shots. Then, a Taurus flew onto the giant vid-screen. Immediately after him followed a Tentacle unit.  
  
The Taurus was using it's own impressive speed to run, but to no avail. The Tentacle caught up with it swiftly, and the masses of appendages attached to it's back seemed each to triple in length. Shooting out with intense speed, they attached themselves to the hapless Taurus suit, who had no beam rifle on him, he must have lost it in the battle. The tentacles themselves seemed to pulsate, and only the gurgled scream of the pilot could be heard, as each tentacle pulled back on it's respective section of the suit, effectively ripping it to shreds. The Tentacle's many appendages let go of the remains of the pilot's mobile suit as if he was only an afterthought, and sped offscreen to a different part of the battle. The screen flickered, and switched back to the specification diagram of the suit.  
  
The only thing to be heard in the briefing theater was dead silence.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
L1 Colony Cluster Delegate Marshall Reeves folded his arms across the desk before him. He spent much of his time in his ornately decorated office, these days, planning. Planning his rise, planning the fall of those woulw would dare oppose him...  
  
Marshall Reeves was a very prudent man.  
  
The Earth Sphere United Nation Armed Forces were now a reality. He had always known the day would come, although he had expected that the cause for it would be through his machinations. Unfortunately, it was not due to his years of scheming, improvising, and manipulating. The threat approaching was a deadly one, to be sure. One and a half million warships of anything was enough to be taken seriously, no matter how smart he was.   
  
But, like everything else he had ever encountered, he was not without his ways to twist this to his advantage. He had plans in place, one that would guarantee a human victory, or, more to the point, HIS victory. Not one to trust in anything completely, he had plans in place for an alien victory, as well. He always planned for every contingency, it was the only reason he had risen from his lowly position in the beginning of his life, as the personal aid of that fool Dekim Barton....  
  
And now, he had even more oppurtunities to work with. For that was how he thought of everything; people, cities, lives, thoughts, fears, and anything else that might be of use. Oppurtunities. Ways for him to use things to further his own power.   
  
And the recent arrival of the Wing Zero could also work to his advantage, if played right. He could nuetralize the biggest threat to his eventual rise, the Gundams, before they even had a chance to discover the game they had been unexpectedly woven into.  
  
Slowly, a plan began to form in the Delegate's head.  
  
He reached a hand over to the comm system on his desk, pressing a red button. The number on automatic dial patched him through immediately to his personal staff.  
  
It was time to use the private army he had been assembling.   
  
A man's voice answered over the phone, nervous, as they always were. All of his personal staff knew what kind of a man he could be, especially when his demands were not met satisfactorily.  
  
"He...Hello? Yes, sir?"  
  
"Dispatch Mobile Doll Task Force 4. Begin Operation Sunset. Send me the vid-feeds in three hours."  
  
"Sir!" came the smart response. He killed the communication set.  
  
It was time to get the ball rolling, to put things in motion. His game, his plan, would begin today. His time had begun.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The moments of uncomfortable silence after the Tentacle vid had been demonstrated were almost ubearable. To think that was just a sample of what they would all soon face......Fortunately, Lady Une broke the overwhelming silence, but not in a way that they would soon enjoy.  
  
The vid screen flickered to life yet again, with an image much the same as the horror it had just displayed. Instead of the mass of writhing metal tentacles, however, these suits had large metal wingspans on their backs, of that same black colored metal. It made them truly resemble and Angel of Death, as the structure and purpose of it was not hard to figure out.  
  
"The other mobile suits, the 'Angels,' are built much the same way. From what we can discern, the mobile suit's armament is two beam sabers, and two beam rifles. Both weapons are attached to it's waist, with the mobile suit being able to draw them at will. Structurally, from what we can tell, the Angel and the Tentacle are exactly the same, with only one major difference. The wings."  
  
The monitor changed to a close up of the massive metal feathers on it's back.  
  
"These suits are even more dangerous than the Tentacle model. Each wing is retrofitted with a thruster, and when all retros are ignited, the top speed of the Angel Mobile Suit is estimated to be in Gundam-class range."  
  
That brought an unhappy murmur from the gathered commanders. None wanted to bring their men out to face a group of opponents that had Gundam-class speed. The Taurus and Leo suits they were to use were bad enough in speed compared to the Tentacle, but now they were forced to combat this monstrosity. It was at this point in the demonstration that most of the commanders realized something.  
  
A lot of good people were going to die out there.  
  
The monitor, thanks to some timely work by the technician, switched to a far away view of the Alien Fleet. One and half Million warships, all aimed for the Earth Sphere. This little vision of death did nothing to improve the moods of the commanders already brooding. After a silent moment of the star-blocking fleet in it's entiriety, the view changed, yet again, to an specification analysis of one of the warships.  
  
"These seem to be the enemy's main mobile suit carriers, yet, they can figth off legions of suits all by themselves if pressed, as proved by a failed attack on one lone ship on May 17th. Out of the one a half million warships contained in the enemy fleet, this one seems to be the generic, with over 90% of them belognging to this category. The rest are varying ships which purposes remain unknown, as we have not seen them in combat."  
  
She looked down at the podium, and began reading the specifications of the ship, much to the horror of those present:  
  
"The length of the ship is approximately one mile long, and 500 meters in diameter. The supporting armament, as far as we can tell, is esitmated to be one thousand tracking laser cannons dispersed at regular intervals throughout the length of the ship. If, as we think, all mobile suits had been dispatched in the Preventer's Last Stand, then each one carries four hundred plus mobile suits. The engines are standard fare, massive power generators located at the rear of the ship. There are no command centers that we have been able to detect, yet, but we aim to find the bridge as soon as possible."  
  
"Now, for our biggest perceived threat: what we have codenamed, 'The Mothership.' "  
  
The image on the screen switched to one of something even worse: The most massive and terrifying battleship any had ever seen, or even imagined, the old warships Libra and Barge not excluding. It stretched on for impossible length, with threatening beam cannons placed all over it's intimidating shape. It was something out of a nightmare, or a bad sci-fi....  
  
"The Mothership is approximately 15 miles long, and one mile in diameter. We have yet to determine the amount of beam weapon emplacements on the ship, but at this point it appears to be in excess of thirty thousand. The number of mobile suits is impossible to determine, but the number 10,000 mobile suits is our best possible guess. Same engine locations as the others, and we have had an equally disturbing time locating the bridge. This is it, soldiers, we assume this to be their base of operations and planning center. We also assume their leader, whomever that may be, is on this ship. If you are forced to encounter it in any unplanned attack, it is advised you retreat IMMEDIATELY. Combat with this ship outside of a controlled battle plan has been deemed suicidal."  
  
The screen once again shifted, to a view of the entire Earth Sphere, a map. The commanders shifted nervously in their seats, this was it. The battle plan. The manner in which they were to stand up for their race.  
  
"The enemy ships, even at the moment, are slowly dispersing, so we expect that they intend to spread their number throughout our territory in an attempt to overwhelm us and enclose Earth. Projected entry points into the Earth Sphere are the L2 Colony Cluster, L3 Colony Cluster, Colony X-18999 area, and L5 Colony Cluster. The enemy is then expected to spread over the Sphere, maybe taking Earth as it goes, maybe not. The L1 and L4 Clusters are on the opposite side of their entry points, so they may take a while to get to those. This point has been dubbed the 'Event Horizon'. If they capture those colony clusters, they will have Earth surrounded, or will already have taken the planet, and they will be our last free strongholds. The bases at the entry points and at the Event Horizon will be the most heavily fortified. The restored battleships Libra and Barge, when completed, will be Earth's main defense. Until then, you soldiers based at the entry points need to hold them at bay. Event Horizon shoulders will be expected to lend troop support and provide shelter in their clusters when necessary. You will receive additional orders when you return to your squadrons."  
  
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, an unspoken goodbye in those last final words.  
  
"And....good luck, everyone. Godspeed, and hope we all come out of this alive."  
  
If only that were the case. Against the forthcoming enemy, Humanity would be hard pressed to survive, at all.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Duo plopped down into the leather seat of of the cockpit with a sigh. He hated those kinds of meetings. All he wanted to do was head out for the enemy fleet, and show them exactly why he was the God of Death. Plans and squadron assignments were all well and good for the others, but he was a Gundam pilot. He would stand wherever he chose, it was the only way he knew how to do battle. And when those ships hit their Earth Sphere entry points, he planned to be out there, the beam sycthe of his Gundam swinging, to meet them dead on.   
  
It was time to depart, and wait.  
  
His fingers flew over the controls of the mobile suit HUD with ease. The hatch closed, and the rest of the previously blank and empty switches and monitors flickered to life, bringing status reports for systems all over the mobile suit. After a cursory glance to make sure all systems were a hundred percent, he set the Gundam into pilot mode, and laid his hand on the stick beside his chair, pulling up, his other hand manipulating yet more controls.  
  
And from it's comfortable paddock, the Gundam Deathscythe, destroyer of countless men and women, roared to life. It's black visage lit up with blood red eyes, as if the mobile suit itself shared the attitude of the pilot. With a single thrust of it's massive engines, it blazed out of the hangar like a rocket, out of the bunker and into the relieving and welcoming sky.   
  
He loved it up here. No matter what problems there seemed to be with the world, as long as he was in Deathscythe, ready to tackle them head on, everything would be okay.  
  
To the side of the mobile suit, across the sky and closer to the ocean, were two more mobile suits. Brother suits of the currently piloted by Duo Maxwell, and wearing that same blood red visage. The water parted beneath their engine wash, almost as if the sea itself was anxious to move out of their wake. Gundams Altron and Sandrock approached the Deathscythe through the air, their weapons held at their sides.  
  
Quatre's peaceful voice came over the comm set: "So, Duo, you're heading out already, too?"  
  
From inside of his mobile suit, the cheerful pilot grinned. "I'm on my way to the X18999 Colony."  
  
Wufei's grim tone responded: "One would have thought you would head out to the L2 Cluster."  
  
After a quiet moment, he got his answer: "Nothing left for me there, anymore. Hilde's on Earth, safe, and X18999 seems as if it'll be the center of all the action, so I'm there."  
  
Before any of the other pilots could answer Duo, or inform him of their plans for War, something quite unexpected happened.  
  
Just as the suits Altron and Sandrock pulled up to the other's side, beams of lasers struck the floor all around them.  
  
Deathscythe shook and practically did a flip, landing hard on the ground, tidal waves of send being sent up on either side of it. He was no Trowa, that was for sure, he did not know how to make his Gundam perform like an acrobat. As Duo brought the Gundam's visage up and ignited it's retros, intending on heading right for the source of the blast, he heard Quatre's voice on the comm:  
  
"Virgos!!"  
  
And sure enough, as Deathscythe turned to look, they they were. Maybe twenty Virgos, each with that blasted beam shielding around them, and all opening fire on the surprised pilots. He could hear Altron and Sandrock readying themselves, and his own Deathscythe's beam scythe ignited brightly.   
  
He yelled over the comm set as Deathscythe roared in at the opponents, full of the need for vengeance. "What the hell are Virgos doing over here?! The governemt only uses Tauruses and Leos!"  
  
Quatre responded as his own mobile suit rammed straight into one of enemy's beam shields, causing a blinding output of electricty to be given off. "I don't know, I didn't think anybody used mobile dolls anymore, either!" With that, his Gundam brought it's heat shotels around the stunned shield, bissecting the Virgo suit at it's waist. Sandrock turned away, and engines flaring, blazed through the battle torn sky at it's next opponent, the explosion of the mobile doll behind him unworried about.   
  
The talking stopped, and the real battle commenced.  
  
Deathscythe weaved in at it's opponent through the air, causing it to turn anxiously the other way, then, using it's wrong direction, took that moment to slice his beam scythe through the doll's head. The God of Death flew through the explosion in a rage, his beam sycthe slicing throguh two more undefended Virgos as his mobile suit danced in between the beams in some soprt of demented dance, the blue trail of engines and the trail of destruction behind it the only sign that it was ever there at all.  
  
Gundam Altron, it's beam trident lit and held firmly in it's hand, took to the batttle easily. Extending a flame thrower from it's shoulder, flames poured out at all the opponents, the 'Flames of Hell', as the pilot liked to call them. The mobile dolls, responding to their inner programming, activated their shields, and were saved from the onslaught. However, the two on the flank edges, becoming ready to attack, moved their shields to the side, expecting the Trident to have to swing at them. Instead, two massive claws breached their power suits, effectively impaling them and breaching their generators. The explosions reverberated through the still clearing wisps of fire, and the limbs retreated. Before the dolls could even process all of this, Altron was on them, the fire behind it very well suiting the mood of it's pilot.  
  
Duo's voice came in over the comm as yet more Virgos fell. "Haven't fought dolls in a while, huh? Forgot how simple minded they were!" he declared as yet another Virgo fell prey to his scythe.   
  
The battle continued for a long while, and despite their efforts, they knew it was one of the hardest battles they had ever been in. The Virgos did not worry about their own self perserverance, only about destroying their targets. They would have succeeded, as well, if they did not have the unfortunate luck that their targets were Gundams.   
  
And so, after long minutes, the battle was concluded. The pilots remained silent, as if none needed to say anything, but they all had the same thought running through their head.  
  
In the midst of all this crisis, someone was trying to kill them. A human, the very race they belonged to, and had recently sworn to protect.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Ex-trainee of the Preventers, and now Liuetenant of the Earth Sphere United Nation Armed Forces, Liuetenant James Carter was a man who knew his place. His girlfrriend, currently living in the L1 Colony Cluster, at the Event Horizon, was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and the reason why he fought. He may have lacked the innate skill or a Gundam class mobile suit that some others had, but just the same, he was happy. He would stand, and fight for his race, as he had always dreamed of doing. He would be a hero, if if no one but his girlfriend's eyes.  
  
So, he slept soundly, unaware of events about to unfold.  
  
Liuetenant Commander Slade slipped into the room, opening and closing the door with catlike grace. He had recenely been promoted, due to the fact that he seemed to have an innate ability to pilot mobile suits, and lead troops. There was even talk of building another Tallgeese, and bestowing it to him, such was his skill. He was proud of that, even though the people around him's amount of skill added up to almost nothing. He had one real enemy, and that was....  
  
Best not to think about it. He had a job to do. Moving with that same grace to the peaceful body of Liuetenant Carter, he paused by the bed. And he drew the foot long blade he had carried with him.  
  
A moment later, he slipped out, just as quietly. He had other places to be, after all. One mistake could mean everything.  
  
The only sign he was ever there was the foot long knife stab through James Carter's heart.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  



	9. And so it All Began

Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200  
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction  
by Torankusu Senshi  
  
Chapter 8: And so it all Began  
  
The battle for the L2 Colony Cluster was raging as hard as any other battle currently going on.  
  
A half an hour ago, 400,000 Alien warships had descended upon the entire cluster, deploying their mobile suits. The E.S.U.N.AF. Forces had been lying in wait, and now that the enemy had arrived, the battle had began. There was not a single space in the thousands of miles of cluster unoccupied by the battle. Mobile suits clashed everywhere, it was a scene from the pits of hell. The calm starry backdrop, and the sereneness of space seemed somehow out of place with the War now being waged. The death of Human pilots was substantial, and it was only getting worse.   
  
Two of the colonies had already been destroyed. The protective domes on four other had been cracked, and war now raged on the civilian streets. Taurus and Leo mobile suits pounded beam blast after beam blast ineffectively into the hordes of the enemy. It all seemed futile, for no matter how many they destroyed, more only arose to take their place.   
  
Two Taurus suits had taken up a post in front of a War shelter in the D-24823Y Colony, almost at the center of the maelstrom. The shelter was housing many innocents, where they had fled to after the colony dome had been shattered by the beam attack of one of the warships. For almost twenty heartstopping minutes, the two brave Taurus suits did their best to protect the innocent people, despite orders from their squadron commander to abort their unassigned post and begin bombing runs on one of the warships. Their spirits, however, could not bring themselves to leave the people alone to die. So they fought.  
  
Eventually, a squadron of Tentacle Suits descended upon the two insurbodinate suits, and they as well the millions of innocent people in the many mile long shelter died.  
  
Even as Zecchs watched, a colony about a thousand kilometers to the side exploded brilliantly, sending shrapnel all over the battlefield and painting the black ofouter space red. A whole colony. 2 billion people, all of whom just lost their lives in an instant. Damned aliens.  
  
Mobile Suit Tallgeese III lifted up it's mega cannon, and a massive beam of yellow hell sprang out from it. The beam speared one of the warships through the center, and a moment later, it exploded brilliantly. Before the explosion had even begun to settle, or Zecchs had had the time to celebrate his victory, an Angel mobile suit was on him. His hands flying over the cockpit controls, the Tallgeese's mighty left arm swung in an upward arc, bisecting the thing from shoulder to waist.  
  
No time to think, before the suit even exploded, Tallgeese had used the full power of it's blue retro flames to leap above the explosion, and the two mobile suits behind to have to stop their supposedly surprise attack. The two Tentacles turned to look up at their ascended foe, but all they see was bright yellow, as if they were staring into the heart of a sun.   
  
Before the aliens could wonder what happened, both suits exploded.  
  
This had been going on for a half an hour. It was a constant test, his reflexes, and truthfully his entire system had been working at it's highest skill for that much time. He didn't know how much more of it he could take, especially since the enemy seemed not to be slowing down or diminishing in any way.   
  
The only thing that fueled him was the thought that these bastards had taken Noin from him.  
  
Turning his mobile suit to get a look around the field, what Zecchs saw was not good. Eveywhere near all the colonies, mobile suits were being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the enemy. And those damn warships weren't helping matters, contributed their massive firepower to the destruction of one colony after another. The Cluster was such a mess that the escape shuttles, of which there had been thousands, had been reduced to dozens, and from his statistic report, that number was falling.   
  
This was hopeless. Men were dying for nothing.  
  
Mobile Suit Tallgeese once again brought it's giant mega cannon up, it's white gloss gleaming with the distant light of the sun reflecting off it's titanium surface. Once again, the beam of yellow megadeath shot out from the muzzle, impaling and destroying another alien warship. He didn't even know how much charge the big gun had left, but he knew it must have been low after half an hour of constanf firings. Those warships were dangerous and well armed, true, but single shots from his mega cannon seemed to suffice.  
  
After destroying another Tentacle with his beam saber, Zecchs came to a decision. It was hard, and he had not come to it lightly. He still wanted to meet Noin, but all that would be impossible if he died. Plus, he could not under good conscience keep this men in here, just to die.  
  
With a quick flip of a switch, he had keyed his comm unit to wide range broadcast, and spoke up in his most commanding tone:   
  
"All Earth Sphere United Nation Armed Forces, abort the battle. Repeat, the battle is lost. Get out of here."  
  
Not wanting to hear the replies of the sure to be angry soldiers, he turned off wide broadcast and back to normal comm mode.   
  
All mobile suits began to pull away from their respective battles, wearily. The battle had taken it's toll.  
  
However, before Zecchs even had the chance to began pulling out himself, more beams of light entered the fray. Within seconds, he saw hundreds of alien mobile suits explode brightly, and many warships become holed with the beams.   
  
He spun his suit around, wondering what the hell could be happening at the moment. And was greeted by the arrival of more suits.  
  
The Magonac Corps had arrived on the battlefield.  
  
Rasid's voice came over the comm, strong and commanding: "No need to give up yet, Zecchs. We fight until it's over."  
  
Without even waiting to hear a response from their commander, thousands of voices yelled their approval. They would not give up their home without a fight.  
  
And so the battle for the L2 Colony Cluster began anew. With a tight smile, Zecchs nodded to the image of Rasid.  
  
And the Mobile Suit Tallgeese III launched itself back into the fray.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Relena Peacecraft stood, once again, as much as she might hate it, in th E.S.U.N.A.F. War Room. The Room, large as it was, was almost overflowing with people. Technicians, aids, messengers, and the newly appointed Admirals all filled the place, all working to the war effort. Another War Room was in construction, but that one was on the other hemisphere, and the things did take a while to build. So, for the moment, the entire War effort was concentrated in here.   
  
She stood off by the corner, dressed in simple, black garments. She had witnessed this same scene countless times before, during the Eve War. She had never enjoyed it then, and it infuriated her even more now to know she was one of those who had brought this about. Relena knew this was necessary, knew nothing else could be done, but she despised it, anyway.  
  
With a mix of horror and fury, she listened to the messengers screaming up to the second war reports to each other:  
  
"Magonac Corps have arrived on the battlefield of the L2 Cluster! All remaining Earth Sphere Forces now engaging Alien Force. Situation Critical!"  
  
"L5 Cluster is under attack. Human Forces en route. ETA approximately 5 minutes. Damage until the arrival of E.S.U.N.A.F, estimated to be the loss of 2 colonies."  
  
"Human forces at the L3 Colony Cluster are being pushed back. 9 colonies have been destroyed, another 7 are currently under attack. Human forces are using the last colonies as their stand point."  
  
"War Time: 7 hours, 26 minutes. Human Losses: 16 colonies, 750,000 estimated mobile suit casualties. Total loss of human life..."  
  
Relena didn't want to hear the next one, but could hardly just turn away. It was as if she had to listen, to somehow honor the deaths of those that had died.  
  
"Total loss of human life during 7 hours of warfare expectd to be 34 billion, and rising."  
  
She felt sick. She could vaguely feel herself sliding down the wall, and grasping her stomach. But she could only think about that. 34 billion lives, wasted, for nothing but another war.....  
  
"Sir! Alien Flagship has departed from all other fleets and is heading directly for Colony X-18999!"  
  
Relena almost threw up. That was where the Gundam pilots where, even the injured Trowa.  
  
"Sir, the Wing Zero is leading the mobile suit forces of the flaghsip!"  
  
She couldn't take anymore. She didn't want to hear this. They were all doomed, and that was that. Even now, only seven hours into the War, they had practically lost all colony clusters besides the ones at the Event Horizon. So many people had died, so many. And now, her friends at X-18999 would face Heero.....and that fifteen mile long flagship.  
  
She stormed out of the War Room, much to the chagrin of the officers nearby, and ran.  
  
She ran, and she ran. She ran until she reached a section of corridor that was empty, and thereby was devoid of witnesses. She leaned her back against the cold metal wall, and prepared herself for the onslaught of tears that was sure to come.  
  
"Ms. Relena, are you okay?"  
  
Slowly, Relena turned her head up to face the intruder of her personal thoughts. And who would stand there, but Dorothy Catalonia, dressed in the simple brown clothes that had earned her reknown during the Eve Wars, as the second in command of her brother, Zecchs Merquise. With a quick wiping off her unformed tears from her eyes by her shirtcuff, she stood a bit straightet to come eye to eye with the taller woman.  
  
"No, Dorothy. The Gundam Pilots are all going to die. Heero and that mothership are heading for them, at colony X-18999."  
  
She had no idea what made her say that. Perhaps it was just the fact tha Dorothy, for all her faults, seemed trustworthy enough, especially since she had adopted Marameiya Khushrenada. But Relena had never been able to get over the girl's old love of warfare, even though Dorothy seemed over that now, it had made enough of a longlasting impression on her to think twice about anything.  
  
Even now, as the woman across from her seemed to digest the new information, her eyes were a mystery. They seemed to be deep pools, containg some important knowledge. But of what, Relena had no idea.  
  
"Then that is where we must go, Ms. Relena."  
  
Relena's eyes widened. "What?"  
  
The woman seemed to scowl in impatience. "We don't have time for this, Ms. Relena. You are needed at the battlefield, you know this. You shouldn't be sitting here in this War Room, where you can do nothing. Out there, we can help."  
  
Relena stared at the girl for a few tense moments. Then, she answered, simply:  
  
"Okay.Let's go."  
____________________________________________________________________________________   
  
Lucrezia Noin leaned against the cold bulkhead, sighing. It had been days since she had awoke in this place, this prison. It lacked bars, maybe, but the nearly empty room was just as bad, posessing only a cold metal shelf, and a giant viewport. All too often during the course of the past few days she had looked at that viewport, at the Alien Force before them. Over the past few days, that force had broken up, and headed to the barely visible colony clusters in the distance. She could still see the distant points and spears of light that made up the distant battles, but unfortunately, she couldn't tell simply by the fireworks sho was winning. She hoped it was Zecchs.  
  
"Impressive, isn't it?"  
  
She turned reluctantly from the viewport to look at her only comrade in here, Private Akira Tomino. The boy was just that, young and slim looking. He did, in fact, remind her very much of a young Heero, around five years ago, the last time she had seen him.   
  
The young man posessed that same quiet air. She had gathered some of his past, and couldn't blame him. After all, the boy had been forced to watch as the only home he had ever known be destroyed, and had been subsequently captured by the aliens. If she were him, she wasn't sure what she would do. But, then again, she has lost Zecchs, she might never see him again.......that thought made her feel even colder than the metal behind her.  
  
"Liuetenant? Are you there?" Akira eyed the woman curiously. She was beautiful, that was sure, without a doubt. She seemed constantly preoccupied with something, though. It had gotten in his way of trying to befriend her. Over the course of the past few days, he had shared maybe 6 conversations with her. What little he had managed to gather was that the Preventers had been destroyed, and she knew the Lightning Baron extremely well. Which was a disconcerting fact in and of itself.  
  
She answered, a little distracted tone to her voice. "Yeah, a million warships destroying our Home is wonderful." There was no mistaking the sarcastic edge in her voice.  
  
Ouch. Akira guessed he deserved that, it had been a stupid question.   
  
Score: Akira zip, Zecchs one.  
  
Which he knew was dumb. There was know way an out of Sphere kid like him could possibly measure up to the noble and great Zecchs Merquise. But she was beautiful, and he'd be damned if he didn't try....  
  
Of course, if Zecchs felt the same way about her, there was the little matter of the Lightning Baron coming after him in that Tallgeese. Which might not go too well......  
  
At that moment, the small metal shelf rang.   
  
The both sprung up and ran to it quickly. A portion of the shelf flipped open to reveal dinner. They were fed twice a day, as well as they could figure.   
  
The stuff was the same every day, a greenish badge goop that looked about as good for them as Ebola.  
  
They took their respective bowls and walked to their own corners, intent on eating while watching the battles as best they could. As soon as the two had settled themselves into the metal floor, as best as possible, they were interupted.  
  
By the massive form of the Gundam Wing Zero flying righy by the viewport.  
  
So maybe interupted had been a bad way to describe it. The both of them almost dropped their food, and turned to stare at each other, quietly.  
  
Noin said it, in a somewhat personal way that again made Akira wonder: "Heero?"  
  
And they ate quicker than they ever had before. Neither wanted to voice it, but both were certain that something was about to happen. And they wanted to be damn ready for it, when it happened.  
  
Liuetenant Lucrezia Noin and Private Akira Tomino. Prisoners aboard an Alien vessel. Comrades in arms. Despite the rough start, they would get closer.Circumstances would force it.  
  
And one would die for the other.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The IV units flatlined. From her position in the hospital's remote room, the nurse gasped. Within the minute, she had run up to the room where the machines had flatlined, only stopping to call for help on the way. The nurse reached the room, and was shocked at what lay before her eyes:  
  
Trowa Barton stood tall, his slim but cut muscles clearly defined against the small hospital gown. He was finishing undoing the straps of his wrists, and turned to look at the nurse. She almost flinched, that gaze was so dead, and at the same time, so intense, that it almost hurt to have it turned on her. The enigmatic man spoke.  
  
"I'm leaving."  
  
And she knew there as nothing she could do to stop him. She could only nod.  
  
And so it came that Trowa Barton would enter the fight.  
  
And his choice was mere hours away.   
  
A choice that would shake the very destiny of Humanity, or destroy it.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Liuetenant Slade stared out over the mobile suit Hangar of the E.S.U.N.A.F. Base. It was cavernous, and housed thousands of mobile suits, all in various stages of construction or reconstruction. Technicians buzzed around from each to each, resembling nothing more than some demented insect colony. Nothing brought out the efficiency and dedication of Humanity moreso than War, or so Slade believed.  
  
However, the technicians at work on the giant Mobile Suits were not his concern. The mobile suit directly across from the viewing platform was.  
  
It stood 17 meters tall, and gleamed of whit and black armor titanium armor. It's menacing form was bristling with all sorts of weaponry. Beam sabers on the inside of each forearm, two beam rifles holstered to the waist like some kind of gunman, and on the wrists small gatling beam guns, newly invented. It had a somewhat spikey form, as if it was more of a suit of armor than a mobile suit. The head was outfitted with the latesy in sensors, and the visage resembled a suit from the past, the Epyon. It was all white,w ith exception of the black arms and legs. On the back rested a giant Mega Beam Cannon, one whose output rivaled, if not exceeded, the one found on the Tallgeese III.   
  
A small technician came up to Slade, obviously proud of himself.   
  
"There she is, sir. The Mobile Suit Zeus. I dare say that she's a match, if not better, than the Gundams."  
  
Slade nodded. "How long?"  
  
"Give her another ten minutes to prep, and she'll be ready to go. Take care of this one, sir, it's the last Gundam-class suit the United Nation can afford, or have the resources for."  
  
Slade begin walking away. "Have the carrier ready to bring me to X-18999."  
  
And, thinking of the Zeus, Slade smiled.   
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Thus events descended upon Colony X-18999. Many things would occur, things upon which Humanity would live on or be broken.  
  
A love would be remade.  
  
A choice was to be decided.  
  
A Great Warrior would die, and another would be born.  
  
Colony X-18999. Not the final battle of the Alien War, but in some ways, the most significant.  
_________________________________________________________________________________ 


	10. Keep the Hope Alive!

  
Gundam Wing: War in A.C. 200  
a Gundam Wing Fanfiction  
by Torankusu Senshi  
  
Chapter 9: Keep the Hope Alive  
  
Gundam Sandrock roared in on it's opponents with a fury, the blue engine trail behind it curving with it's turn. With a swift, fluid movement, the Gundam's huge metallic arms swung through space, the arc of it's heat shotels making an X. The movement never stopped, Sandrock blazed right through the inferno of the two enemy mobile suits and descended upon another grouping.   
  
The battle was not yet 5 minutes old, and already things were looking bad. the Mothership seemed to be content to crawl towards the colony X-18999 at a snail's pace, while it's literal legions of mobile suits battled it out with the defenders. Taurus units fought back with a vengeance, protecting their homes with a hot blooded passion. They were losing, and indeed, the battle might already have been lost, if not for the Gundams.  
  
Fighting like messengers of death, the Gundams were everywhere at once, never stopping the blaze of their engines, and leaving behind a trail of exploding mobile suits in their wake. Deatscythe's beam scythe cut through enemy mobile suits as if they were nothing but an afterthought, the normally green eyed visage glowing a bloody crimson. Those who knew Duo might have been afraid, for the comm channel was absent his usual inane banter. He had already destroyed dozens of the enemy, it was not hard for anyone watching to understand why he had been given the nickname: 'The God of Death.'  
  
Sandrock's heat shotels never stopped swinging, it's pilot, Quatre Rababera Winner, was seeming more vicious in battle than he normally had. He even cursed in frustration as an enemy Angel Suit dodged his heat shotel by mere inches, turning both of it's beam cannons on him. Sandrock weathered the hail of beam fire, closing distance between itself and the enemy. A moment later, nothing was left of the offending mobile suit but fire and shrapnel. Only his two fellow Gundam pilots knew or realized that Quatre was fighting so hard for one reason: His best friend was on the ground, lying in a hospital bed. Quatre refused to betray his trust.  
  
And, as always, the red blooded fury left in the wake of Gundam Altron made enemies hesitate. Apparently, the aliens could sense fear, because some even fled before the power and violence displayed by the grim young warrior. It was unfortunate for them that they couldn't flee very far, either the red hot flames of death or the emerald trident held in the massive hands put all their fears to rest. Wufei lived for this, for the battle, and intended on showing his alien opponents exactly how good he was at it.  
  
Wufei spoke loud over the comm, there was another matter that might become a nuisance, one he was worried about.   
  
"Where is the Wing Zero?"  
  
Moments of silence filled the comm, and Wufei contented himself with bisecting another Tentacle suit. Then, Quatre's answer came over the comm:  
  
"I haven't seen it since the battle began!"  
  
Wufei prepared himself to break off from engaging the aliens; he sure as hell did not desire to be caught unawares by the Wing Zero. He had seen that happen to enemies before, and the result was never congenial to them.  
  
But his search was proved to be futile before it ever begun. Duo's voice broke out, yelling:  
  
"He's right here! Hey...," there was a click on the comm that signified that transmission from closed to broadbeam transmissions, "Heero! What the hell are you doing?!"  
  
The Wing Zero threw it's beam gun to the side, a hint of disdain in it's movements. The gleaming arm came up to the shield, gripped something, and pulled back to it's side, the beam saber it now held gleaming against the black backdrop of space.   
  
The Deathscythe, it's movements less decisive, as if reluctant, ignited it's beam weapon and held it in the ready position.   
  
"Heero......."  
  
The Wing Zero's back retros flared, the blackness of space behidn it turning a bright blue with the engine flare. The Gundam closed the space between itself and Duo in moments, the gigantic beam saber that it held fast in it's metal grip slicing through the air, leaving behind a green trail of light. As it cut through space, it seemed as if the beam would bisect the Deathscythe from shoulder to waist, but at the last moment the beam scythe met it firmly, and the Deathscythe used the thrusters on his boots to beat a hasty retreat backwards.  
  
"Heero! Why are you fighting us? Why are you on their side?!"  
  
Duo had expected the comm to remain silent, as had been the result of all previous attemtps to contact the pilot of the Gundam Wing Zero. But instead, to the horror of every human pilot on the battlefield, and even those listening at home, the calm, determined voice belonging to Heero Yuy rang over the comm set.  
  
"Duo, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. So shut up and fight!" The Wing Zero was back on the Deathscythe in an instant, the saber it held striking and swinging in a furious attack.  
  
The only response Heero's attack provoked on Duo was a slow defense. The Gundam wasn't even trying to counter.  
  
All over the battlefield, human suits had all of a sudden become reluctant to battle. Most had dismissed the notion of Heero piloting against them as nonsense, thinking perhaps it was an alien pilot in the Wing Zero. However, now, all their worst fears were confirmed: The strongest and most determined fighter of their race had turned against them.  
  
Again, Duo's beam scythe managed to deflect the saber, but anyone with eyes would have been able to tell that Deathscythe's defense wouldn't last long. The saber swung in again, this time almost swiping the head clear off the Gundam.  
  
"Duo, stop being so weak and fight me." The calm statement was just that, none too worried. On either side of the 'neck' of the Zero, two machine guns arose. Shot after shot pounded into the Deathscythe, which only began evasive manuevers.  
  
"Duo. If you don't fight, I'll kill you." The barrage stopped, but this time, the Wing Zero just floated in space, the lifeless gaze of the Gundam bearing into the other.  
  
From inside his suit, Duo cursed. "I don't want to fight you, Heero."  
  
"If you're reluctant to fight your enemy, than you shouldn't be fighting," replied the imperturbable voice. If there had been any doubt in Duo's mind, now it was gone.  
  
With that, the Wing Zero's engines again flared, and it was across the battlefield, cutting through Taurus units as easily as it had those mobile dolls, all those years before.  
  
Duo, despite his reservations, knew what he had to do. If he didn't fight Heero, how many others would die, today? How many would die, if he gave in to his weaknesses?  
  
"HEERO!" came a furious shout. And the Deathscythe, eyes glowing a crimson that promised death, blazed through space at it's new and unexpected opponent.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Akira ran. And he ran. And ran. He had been running until he had hit his thresh hold, his legs ached and his lungs pounded away at his chest in vain attempts to get in any kind of air.   
  
Things had been normal, for a few moments. Well, as normal as they can be, when one is trapped aboard an alien spaceship during the middle of a War. He and Noin had been watching the battle from their small room; him just marveling in awe at the scope and magnitude of the battle before him, her simply staring, as if she was looking for something. Or more appropriately, someone....  
  
And that's when it happened. A stray beam from the battle had hit the mothership, right below them, collapsing the structure. They fell into a room full of what was apparently aliens in some kind of armor, or suits( which was made of the same black as everything else around this damned hellhole,) and, in the confusion, Akira had managed to escape.   
  
He had lost track of Noin.  
  
The black corridors had no visible light that Akira could detect, but nonetheless, the corridors glowed with an almost eerie half-light. He had been running for what seemed like forever, but in actuality had probably been only a few minutes. Running to where, he didn't know, but he'd put his trust with Fate and hope things worked out...  
  
The corridor he was in came abruptly to an end. Practically sliding, Akira turned to his left, and saw a circular opening, which apparently led to blackness. Well, if he didn't do something soon, they'd probably find and kill him, anyway.  
  
So, he braced himself, and stepped through the blackness.  
  
And stumbled into a giant cavern.  
  
Well, cavern was the wrong word. But it was certainly huge. Akira couldn't see the end to either side of the huge room, and, surprise of surprises, it was black. As he glanced nervously around, he could see that the ceiling and bottom floor were impossible high, it seemed he was standing on a balcony of some sort. On the other side of the cavernous room, directly opposite from his location, was sight to behold:  
  
Through a shimmering screen, the war for Colony X-18999 was taking place. Suits dodged and weaved, beams were fired and counterfired, mobile suits exploded in brilliant oranges and reds. He had seen it through his viewport, up in the room, but this....this was without words. And then, to Akira's joy, he finally saw that Fate had, in fact, pulled through for him.  
  
He had inadvertently stepped into the mobile suit Hangar of the Alien Flagship.  
  
There they were, thousands of them, their cockpits all lined in easy access across the balcony. Thousands of black ones with tentacles, some with bird like wings.....  
  
Now THAT one was different.   
  
The mobile suit that was practicallt staring right down at him was more human looking than the others. Instead of being black, it was dark violet and black, with the former practically covering all of it. The biggest noticebale feature about it, however, was....  
  
The thing was a Gundam.  
  
Akira may have been an out of sphere equivalent to a country bumpkin, but he knew a thing or two about mobile suits. And this one was definitely made of Gundanium. Strangely enough, it seemed to have no projectile or beam armaments, only melee weapons.....  
  
A quick glance around the cavernous hangar affirmed the fact that this was the only Gundam here. And he had stumbled right onto it.  
  
Fate was more than just helping him, it was giving him the full treatment.  
  
But why did the aliens have a Gundam?  
  
No time for such things. Breaking his tired body into another sprint, Akira ran towards the Gundam.  
  
That Gundam had a name, once. A name Akira Tomino didn't know. And it might have made him halt, if he had. For that Gundam lived in on in the many nightmares of the veterans of the Eve Wars....  
  
Epyon.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Relena was forced violently to the side of the leather passenger seat, straining the safety belt. She slowly brought her head up, combatting the forces of extreme manuevering, to look back out the viewport in front of her, in which a scene of war was strayed beneath. The mobile suits that she knew were engaged in a war miles away were barely visible at such an extreme distance, all she could see of the battle were the bright pinpricks of light that marked laser beams, and the breif novas of fire thst symbolized destruction of a mobile suit. Just the sight of such a scene of outright warfare was enough to make the young girl want to vomit.   
  
And, in the center of the firestorm, visible even at this distance, was a long black dagger in space, the only telltale sign of it's existence at this distance the absence of any stars in it's background. The fifteen mile long mothership. And it was closing with the colony quickly, too quickly. She doubted the human mobile suits would be able to stop it in time.  
  
"Dorothy, can't we go any faster?" Relena questioned as the ship jerked violently again, avoiding yet another beam of light.  
  
"Miss Relena, we could, but we'd be destroyed in no time by these stray beams."   
  
Relena sighed, grasping the handholds on either side of her chair tight enough to leave finger marks. Seemed she had a ways to go, yet. But she had to be there...Heero.....  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Deathscythe Hell's wingspan spread open, making it seem more like a bat than even it normally did, and the Gundam descended upon the Wing Zero, it's beam scythe slicing through space in a cut that would have bisected a normal mobile suit before it had time to react.  
  
The beam saber of the Wing Zero was there to meet it, and parry the blow, the electric feed back caused by the meeting of the beam weapons lighting up the area between the two dueling Gundams. It lasted for only a moment, and then the two Gundams retros flared as they backed away from each other, strafing across space before clashing again, and repeating. It was a deadly dance of speed, coordination, strength, and skill. Any mistake, the slightest microscopic slip of beam weapons to where they were not supposed to be, and the opponent's attack would destroy the other.  
  
The Deathscythe's charge ceased, and instead it drew back, it's midnight metallic arm rising, firing a massive rocket propelled claw at the other Gundam. Wing Zero's back retros flared, and it simply increased it's speed, not stopping for a moment as it's beam saber stabbed through the incoming claw, the Gundam itself flying through the explosion as if it never happened.  
  
Duo cursed to himself as he manipulated the controls to dodge the next attack. He had forgot, over the course of the years, just how good Heero was. It was like fighting a mobile doll, if one could set the difficulty level up a few hundred notches. He was unrelenting, perfectly coordinated, and the power of the Wing Zero wasn't helping matters for Duo any.  
  
The massive Gundam's emerald beam scythe sliced through space at it's opponent, but again met the equally fierce emerald of the Wing Zero's beam saber.  
  
Heero was good, that was for certain. But Duo was no pushover. He hadn't been nicknamed "The God of Death," for no reason at all. Things were a stalemate, and it seemed that things would continue on like this for quite a while yet.  
  
Until the unexpected happened.  
  
"Heero!"  
  
The voice rang all universal broadcast comm rather than the channels used for combat. Duo didn't need to ask who it was, he had heard the voice enough times before.  
  
The Wing Zero seemed visibly stunned a moment, and it stopped combat. Heero's voice came, low, trembling, and confused, over the comm channel.  
  
"....Relena?"  
  
"Heero, why are you doing this?!"  
  
The voice belonging to the pilot of the Wing Zero's voice became tense and angry. "Relena, get out of here! You were never supposed to get involved!"  
  
Before the woman could reply to the man she loved, something happened.  
  
Several things.  
  
All at once.  
  
Duo, kind being that he was at heart, knew that Heero's path was too destructive to them all. His face setting in hard, resolved features, he pulled the trigger on his joystick and pulled back on it. Gundam Deathscythe Hell, in an eerily humanlike movement, swung it's beam scythe with deadly accuracy straight at the unresponsive Wing Zero.  
  
The battle had been raging this whole time, but now it got even worse. The tide seemed to be turning, and for the human side. All over the field, alien mobile suits were cornered, outmanned and outgunned. Human reinforcements had arrived, in force. Instead of the by comparison tame Taurus units the invaders found themselves up against, now they faced a much greater challenge: The Serpents. Remade models of the suit used by the Marameiya forces in A.C. 196. All over the battlefield, Serpents drove back the tide of war. But by far the most dangerous new suit on the field...  
  
The Zeus. Liuetenant Slade of the E.S.U.N.A.F. launched onto the scene in a fury, the weapons from his high performance suit blazing like the cannons of death.  
  
And to top it all off, the Mobile Suit Tallgeese and the Magonac Corps had entered the fray. What little of the force remained from the losing battle at a different cluster, had returned to help.  
  
All of a sudden, things looked very good for the human forces.  
  
Relena's ship was struck by a stray blast. It exploded brilliantly, but even those colors seemed dull in comparison to the battle around them. As the wreckage spread, ever so slowly, throughout space, two vaguely human shaped blue containment suits could be seen drifting around.  
  
"RELENA!!" Heero's cry shouted, joining the screams of dying men. The Wing Zero barely made it out of the way of the beam scythe, the blur of colors all that Duo could see. It had lost it's beam saber arm. But it's one good arm now brandished the twin buster rifle it was famous for, and it used it's back and boot retros to flare across space from the Deathscythe, it's stump of an arm sizzling with short circuits.  
  
Gundam Sandrock's immense heat shotels cut through two more mobile suits during a descent, and Quatre turned to face new enemies, new aliens to defeat. What he saw instead was the visage of the Zeus, the mobile suit itself igniting a crimson beam saber in each hand as it closed in on him.  
  
"MURDERER!" screamed Slade over the comm, almost incoherent, but filled with grief and rage. Before Quatre could ask, or even dodge, the Zeus was on him. All he could do was raise his own heat shotels in an arc, fending off the enemy for a moment.  
  
Slade wasn't to be discouraged, again with a scream he closed in on Sandrock, his beam sabers dangerously coming close to the Gundanium armor of the mobile suit. Sandrock dodged, doing it's best not to attack, it's pilot was still entirely too confused to do anything but try and avoid the attacks. If the Zeus had been piloting as it had before, it would have bisected the Gundam, but it seemed to move with a furious abandon, attacking like a thing posessed. It was a strange thing to see in a mobile suit, and the frustrated cries of the Zeu's pilot weren't helping things any.   
  
Seen by some, but perhaps too strange or frightening to mention over broadcast comm, yet another new mobile suit had entered the fray.   
  
Akira mentally cursed himself for being captured by aliens who couldn't speak English, or even Japanese. It wasn't like in the movies. All the labels on the Gundam's cockpit were in some strange heiroglyphics that he couldn't comprehend. It had been all he could do to get the thing out of the damn hangar, and somehow he had managed to avoid being shot to pieces or crashing in the process. He looked again, in vain it seemed...  
  
Aha! There it was! A small button, to the right of the main vid screen, covered by a small plastic film. Above, the words a plain white, were four letters:  
  
"ZERO"  
  
If he had stopped to think of what that meant, or what he remembered of the word and mobile suits, it definitely would have gave him pause. But, impulsive being that he was, and overjoyed that he was at seeing a word in English, he didn't. With a nod and a quick gesture to remove the film, he pushed the button, hard.  
  
And his senses exploded.  
  
Or rather, they exploded with the raw input he was getting for them. He was aware of all the mobile suits in the field around him, every shot fired, every dodge. It was wonderful. No longer did any of the mobile suits seem like 60 foot tall monstrosities, but merely targets for him to destroy. An instinct reverberated at the back of his head, and he followed it.  
  
The Epyon started attacking everything and everyone on the battlefield.  
  
_________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Far from the site of battle, on a large engine platform that resembled more of a board, stood another Gundam. Heavyarms.  
  
From inside, Trowa shook his head.  
  
"I'm gone for a few days and all hell breaks loose..."  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Amidst the heat of battle, surrounded by searing hot laser beams and monstrous dueling mobile suits, floated two containment suits. Through the shiny faceplate of one of the two, a face could be seen. TBoth suits floated dead in space, neither making a move.  
  
And at the faceplate of that one, a small cloud of heat appeared, and disappeared as soon as it came. Relena was breathing.  
  
But she wouldn't be for long, unless something intervened.  
_________________________________________________________________________________   
  
  



	11. All or Nothing

Gundam Wing: The War in A.C. 200  
A Gundam Wing Fanfiction  
By Torankusu  
  
  
Chapter 10: All or Nothing  
  
The dark violet and midnight colors of the Gundam called Epyon, known by others simply as the Devil, were a whirlwind on the battlefield. Due to the dark backdrop of space, it was nearly impossible to see the mobile suit, the only telltale sign of it's existence the giant melee weapon it held in one hand. It's green eyes flashing crimson red, the mobile suit fought through the battlefield with ease, destroying human and alien alike. The human pilot of a Taurus unit didn't even have the time to scream before the glowing beam saber sliced through the titanium alloy as if it weren't even there.   
  
The nightmare had returned.  
  
Inside the massive death machine, Private Akira Tomino of the Earth Sphere United Nation Armed Forces was sweating uncontrollably. So many enemies, everywhere. Everyone on the battlefield wanted to kill him. That didn't matter. Nothing did. He would destroy them all before they could. With a malicious smile across sweat stained skin, he screamed incoherently, and the Epyon attacked.  
  
The battlezone around the colony X-18999 had become chaotic. Tauruses and their newly arrived allied Serpent units fought back the alien invasion witrh all they could muster. The fiteen mile long black monstrosity that was the alien mothership floated there, it's turrets useless against the much more agile mobile suits. For once, the tide of battle seemed uncertain. The E.S.U.N.A.F. forces just might prevail, this time.  
  
The Gundam closs mobile suit Zeus, a towering machine of white and blue colors, representing the thunder god that was it's namesake, was in as much a frenzy as it's pilot. It's twin crimson beam sabers, one in each hand, sliced through the air, it's vulcan cannons blazing. However, no matter how much it tried, it could not seem to destroy the Gundam Sandrock.  
  
Quatre Rabarera Winner was confused. What was this? He quickly turned on his comm board, and spoke directly to the pilot of the other suit:  
  
"Hey! What's this all about?!"  
  
The only answer that he got over the comm was a hysterical scream, "You don't even remember, do you?! You BASTARD!! I'll kill you!"and the Zeus, it's frenzy renewed, lashed out again, this time nearly severing the head from the torso of the other suit.  
  
Quatre couldn't keep this up. His Gundam was good, no doubt, but the blue-white suit had capacilities that damn near exceeded that of the Wing Zero. The pilot must be using the Zero system, it was all the young man could do to defend hismelf, to dodge. Experience had gotten him this far in the fight, but who knew how much longer it would get him?   
  
"What did I do to you? Tell me!" yelled a stressed Quatre.  
  
All he got was a cry of outrage, and a slice that nearly would have cut a good sized battleship in half. This wasn't good...  
  
Wufei Chang, piloting the Gundam Altron, was excited. He could see his rival, the Devil, across the field, hacking through it's opponents, clearly without thinking things through. The pilot was quite obviously out of his mind. That didn't matter. The point was, the Epyon was back, and at the moment, he seemed to be the only suit close enough or free enough to be able to deal with it. Despite himself, he felt a cold smile draw across his lips. Pleasantries aside, this was what he lived for, and always would be.  
  
Gundam Altron, ignoring all other potential enemies, flew in to meet the Gundam Epyon.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Marshall Reeves knew it was time. Time to play his card, and let the other ones fall into place. The E.S.U.N.A.F. and the Alien Fleet were busy battling it out on the other side of the Earth Sphere, nearly a day's flight from here. With the level of resistance the humans were putting up, it could be days or weeks before the aliens made it to the Event Horizon, and his colony. Nonetheless, better to play his card early than not at all.  
  
Reeves sometimes wondered how he could be of the same race as those idiot humans. Trusting, sniveling, and weak. It had been a wonder that they had managed to stay unified. He felt nothing but pity for them, and once his master plan unfolded, he would feel not even that.  
  
As for the alien intruders, Reeves did not know why they were here, what their purpose was, or how strong they really were. Neither did he care. The only thing that mattered was that their arrival had made things even easier for him, played right into his hands. He couldn't have asked for such a godsend, not that he believed in a god. Nonetheless, this was luckier than he ever could have asked for. Not that he believed in luck.  
  
"Comm on. Destination, Command Center." He waited for the bleep that signified success.  
  
"One, begin Operation Dusk."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Fate seemed to be on his side.  
  
Nonetheless, he hedged his bets. Ms. Relena Peacecraft had an interesting surprise in store.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Forgive me God, Heero, Relena, and whoever else may care...  
  
With that thought, the God of Death, Duo Maxwell, brought up it's armed hand, and launched it's energy tipped missile at his opponent.  
  
Wing Gundam Zero, having just lost an arm, was too off balance to do much to stop this. The sizzling Gundam's wings ignited, the engines flaring in an attempt to evade, but to no use. The missile struck dead on, at the emerald center of the Gundam's metal chest. Wing Zero was buffeted back by the explosion, it's systems short circuiting, chaos all around it. The explosions of war around the mobile suit seemed fitting as it began to peel apart, inch by precious inch.  
  
Duo, not for the first time this dreadful day, offered a prayer to a God he had stopped believing in long ago.  
  
The black wings of Gundam Deathscythe Hell spread, and like a bat, it roared in to it's next opponent, Duo screaming a tragic cry as he went.  
  
Lucky for all of them, Heero was not dead. Not even close.  
  
He floated limp against the explosion dotted background of starred space, watching the spectacle before him with dead eyes. It was all over. He had lost Relena, he had lost Wing Zero, he was a hypocrite, dammit, he didn't even have a home to go to, anymore...  
  
And, like always, he didn't care. All that mattered was Relena. All that had ever mattered.   
  
And so he float, gazing upon the scene before him, wondering idly when a stray shot would vaporize any memory of him from this universe, for good. About time.  
  
Some distance away, Relena Peacecraft was thinking much the same thing.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Mobile Suit Tallgeese III opened fire with it's mega beam cannon again, the bright, sun colored beam lancing out across the stars, erasing foes from the battlefield as if they had never been. An enemy Angel suit roared in on his left side, but Zechs Merquise, commander of mobile suits, one time destroyer of Humanity, and now it's savior, hadn't been known as the Lightning Count for nothing. His crimson white beam saber slashed out, and before the Angel could even attempt a countermeasure, it exploded. Tallgeese rocketed through the shards and fire, ever focused on it's mission.  
  
They were driving the enemy back.   
  
All over the battlefield, enemy units were being destroyed, or trying unsuccessfully to retreat to the safety of the Mothership. Serpents opened fire with their massive chain guns and missle launchers, clearing the enemy ranks. Taurus units used their unparalled agility to gain the advantage. Humanity was winning. For once.  
  
No time for emotions of relief. There was yet fighting that needed to be done. And Zecchs would do it.  
  
Noin...  
  
Gundam Heavyarms's guns blared, silencing the skies of all enemy foes. Trowa Barton was back on the battlefield, back from an unsuccessful assasination. He knew not who had ordered him to be killed, only knew, like Zecchs, that there was fighting to be done. So he did. The orange colors of the Heavyarms flashed brilliantly through space as bullets, missiles, and beams came from it's weapons racks in a literal downpour.   
  
As he fought on, black enemy mobile suits exploding in his wake, he drew ever closer to the Alien Mothership.   
  
There comes a time in every warrior's life when Destiny calls. Now, it called Trowa Barton to center stage.  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Devil met Dragon, and the skies parted for them in reverence.  
  
Gundams Epyon and Altron met in the bloodied battlefield, each machine meant for war, each meant as a martial mobile suit, one where close range weapons meant life or death.   
  
The Epyon, it's giant emerald beam saber, held out in front, flew on towards it's newest opponent, it's back retros flaring in unison, trailing fire across space.  
  
Altron, it's double sided beam trident held in one metal hand to the side, in an eery motion, mirrored it's opponent, back retros flaring.  
  
The Gundams met, Epyon's heat rod slashing up and in, a move that had destroyed many a good soldier. Wufei Chang was more than good. His own mobile suit's manuevering thrusters ignited, and the heat rod cut nothing but air. As the Epyon's arm pulled backwards, drawing it back, the beam trident of Altron responded, moving in a straight thrust, as if Wufei meant to gut his opponent. Yet the Epyon's own beam weapon retaliated, the space between them crackling with excess electricity.  
  
Neither pilot said anything. Wufei Chang lived for these moments. Private Akira Tomino was obsessed with this fight, the Zero system turning him into a demon, much like the suit he piloted.  
  
Altron's other dragon shot from it's arm, meeting Epyon in the chest. The other Gundam seemed to stumble back, no traction to be found in space, but the thrusters responded, and it's heat rod lashed out, stopping any more forward movement from the Altron, and the other Gundam let it's flame thrower cover the remaining distance. Epyon again stumbled back, and it's rockets propelled it upwards and back down, it's beam saber slicing in an arc to take the other suit in half.   
  
Wufei smiled in his cockpit as his Gundam easily avoided the blow, responding with another blast of flame.  
  
Tomino was good, but the Gundam pilots, such as Wufei, were on another level entirely. Even the vaunted Zero system couldn't replaced good old fashioned skill. If the Epyon had posessed any long range weapons, it might have been different, but the overwhelming advantage was in Wufei's hands.   
  
Epyon flew through the blaze of fire, it's gundaniun armor protecting it's vitals. This time, it's attack was more calculated, it's monstrous beam saber slicing, stabbing, and thrusting so fast that it was all Wufei could do simply to hit the reverse thrust and bring his own beam trident in a chance to match it. The other, however, was not to be deterred, and used the overwhelming power of it's own beam saber to parry the trident to the side. Then the Devil came in again, slashing like a monster.  
  
Wufei, sweat having broken across his brow, grimaced as he felt his grip on the controls tighten. This might be harder than he thought.  
  
Across the battlefield, across many personal and individual wars being fought, stood Gundam Sandrock.  
  
Across from that, stood Mobile Suit Zeus.  
  
Quatre was a little surprised to hear the other pilot's voice come on, after all this time:  
  
"You don't deserve even the simple honor of knowing why I am about to kill you."  
  
Quatre remained quiet. He had enough of reasoning, enough of pleading. He had enough of always being the sensitive one. Quatre had had enough.   
  
Sandrock, taking advantage of it's enemy's hesitation, moved. With blinding speed it crossed the distance, the mobile suit Zeus not even having enough time to lift up a weapon in defense. It swung it's heat shotels, in a massive arc...  
  
The camera and sensor system of the Zeus, better known as the head, was shattered beyond all repair.  
  
Inside his cockpit, Slade watched with growing anger as the systems of the Mobile Suit, one by one, disappeared. Targeting, gone.....Weapons, gone......Visual, gone....all he had left was communications and life support.  
  
Gundam Sandrock's backpack veniers erupted with flame, and Quatre searched the battlefields for an opponent not human, and not insane.  
  
But he couldn't escape the cry of Slade, over the communications band. As he went, it cursed him. Even as he began combat with enemy Angels and Tentacles, he could hear the sobbing voice of Slade screaming for him to come back.  
  
"You no good murdering bastard! Come back here and finished what you started! Kill me, like you did all of them! BASTARD! COME BACK HERE!"  
  
Quatre felt a single tear roll down his cheek.  
  
The person who had started this war, would pay, and pay dearly. Of this he promised himself.  
  
He had no idea...  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
He held her in his arms. Gently, as if he were afraid to harm her, yet firmly, because he was forever afraid to let her go. Their faceplates were put together, even though the two could barely see each other through their own breath exhalation. She hugged him close, all the suppressed emotions of the past five years rushing back to her in an instant. They felt themselves twirling through space, and nothing else seemed to matter.  
  
They were twirling through space, alright. Through a warzone. All around them, mobile suits, human and alien in origin, exploded, good men and women died, and the history of the species Homo Sapien was being forever rewritten.  
  
Yet they spun through space, nearly oblivious to it all. They were together again.  
  
Nearly oblivious.  
  
Relena, not lessening her hug on him at all, could not help it. So many people had died, so many other's lived were forever changed. All because of him. She had to know.  
  
"Why, Heero?"  
  
The stoic man's perpetual dead eyes seemed to flicker with emotion, for a moment.   
  
"Relena...."  
  
Relena gave a small sob as she brought up her legs, curling them into her chest. Before Heero could do anything, she gave a sharp kick, and he was forced to let go, their inertia sending them in opposite directions. Heero watched her with those dead brown eyes, but she couldn't look back at him.  
  
At that moment, as Relena Peacecraft drifted away from the Gundam pilot Heero Yuy through the black abyss, he realized that he had lost everything.   
  
Nearby, just close enough to watch but go unnoticed, float Dorothy Catalonia. She watched sadly as Relena kicked Heero away from her. She had never expected things to get so personal with the human side.  
  
But then, she reflected, that was what happened when the enemy was willing to go far enough...._____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Trowa Barton was closer, now. As close to the mothership as he would possibly get, without putting his own suit at a disadvantage from the alien ship's guns.  
  
He had been without emotions for quite a while now. The half-clown mask he wore was a gross mockery of that, a punishment he put himself through every day of his life. Trowa was not his real name, and no matter how much his "friends" insisted it was, it wasn't. He had No Name. He was just another unknown soldier, destined to die on the battlefield, to be killed as he had killed so often before. This didn't sadden him, nothing did. As he did everything else, he accepted it simply as fact.   
  
Yes, he lacked emotions. However, he did not lack friends, or a cause. If there was anything the young man had learned from the Eve and Marameiya Wars, it was that the cause he fought in was one many would have gladly died for. People needed his help. Innocents needed his help.  
  
And right now, whether they realize it or not, his friends needed his help.   
  
He didn't know how he knew what to do. He didn't know why he knew. He only knew that somehow, he knew exactly what had to be done, right now. What else mattered?  
  
Gundam Heavyarms , it's pilot bearing an actual smile, a genuine smile, closed in on the Alien Mothership.  
  
He had no regrets.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
Next time on Gundam Wing: The War in A.C. 200:  
  
The Gundam pilots and all of humanity relive the horrors of war, one they thought they had lost forever. We discover that the humans have even more dangerous enemies from inside their ranks than from without. Can the Earth Sphere United Nation survive in a new era of bloodshed? Will all of our pilots make it out of this alive?  
  
Next time on Gundam Wing: The War in A.C. 200:  
  
BLAZE OF GLORY  
  
Coming Soon! 


End file.
